


Of Love and Loss and Memories (yours and mine and ours to come)

by tinglingworld



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-19 05:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4734503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinglingworld/pseuds/tinglingworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Past 'Going Home'. Ever since they can remember Emma and Henry go on a trip to coastal Maine in fall. This time though, when they drive their usual way to the small city they're spending their vacation in, they find someone in need of their help. Little did they know how much said someone was going to impact on their lives- or what they thougth to be their lives, anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bgmoth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bgmoth/gifts).
  * Inspired by [[Fanart] Of Love and Loss and Memories (yours and mine and ours to come)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4673630) by [bgmoth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bgmoth/pseuds/bgmoth). 



> So this is my second Big Bang Story. I have literally been at this forever. I think I started writing it for the very first Big Bang, then I couldn't finish it, motivation left me, I had other ideas, all these things. 
> 
> Now I finally finished it, so here it is.
> 
> I have confidently placed this story in fall break and then realized that apparently for middle schoolers in the US there is no such thing apart from a few free days over thanksgiving? Yeah, well, there is one in Germany so my dear American friends, just pretend that there is a two week break for Henry each fall and then the whole thing makes sense again ;P
> 
> Thanks so much to bgmoth for the absolutely amazing cover art! Go check it out and give kudos!

**_ Chapter 1 _ **

“Kid, come on, hurry! We wanted to get going at eleven, it’s almost 11:45 and you’re still not ready.”

“I’m coming.” Henry called from his room. “I’m ready now, okay?” he told his mom, when he finally entered the living room, his travel bag over his shoulder. But when he saw his mother’s accusing expression he sighed. “I’m sorry, okay?”

Emma nodded.

“Okay, kid. But let’s get your bag in the car now. I want to be on the road for a few hours before we stop for lunch.”

Henry nodded and passed his mother on the way out of the apartment. Emma checked one last time if the TV was disconnected and the stove turned out. Satisfied she followed her son and locked the door behind herself.

 

While waiting for the elevator, because of course Henry didn't keep it waiting for her, she couldn’t help but smile in expectance of their vacation. Ever since she could remember they took this trip during Henry’s fall break. They drove up to Boston, stayed there for a night and then followed the coast line up to Rockport, Maine; just the two of them, no thoughts wasted on school or work or whatever else was bothering them in their everyday life in New York.

Which was a lot lately, Emma thought with a hint of bitterness. While Henry had his first crush on a classmate a few months ago, and his first broken heart a few weeks later, Emma didn’t really have more luck with her love life.

She tried to give Henry the image of being happy as a single mom, but there was only so much one could do. And it wasn't just that she couldn't remember the last time she got laid. Apart from a few friendly co-workers she didn't have anyone in her life with whom she'd share more than the obligatory small talk. Of course there was Henry but talking to a 13 year old didn't really cover her need for deep conversation.

 

That's why she started dating the guy from the coffeeshop a few weeks ago. He had seemed nice and funny and most of all interested.  Turned out the only thing he was interested in was the answer to the question "how many affairs can i have without any of them noticing?" The answer was 4. So Emma poured the coffee he had paid for over his lap and left the café.

 

The elevator doors opened and Emma shook her head to clear it from the bitter thoughts. She was looking forward to their trip, and that should be all she should be thinking about.

She played with her keys on the way down, flipping the dreamcatcher pendant between her fingers. This was what she needed right now- something that would catch the bad thoughts. And she believed that their trip would offer her that.

 

When the elevator doors opened again on the bottom floor Henry was already waiting for her.

“Now who’s the one who’s late?” he grinned.

“Only because you couldn’t wait until I locked the doors and had me waiting for the old thing to come up again.”, she answered, a smile returning to her face while she ruffled through his hair and headed for the door.

 

They put Henry’s bag in the trunk and Emma’s purse in the back seat of the yellow bug and headed off into New York’s traffic.

 

….

 

“Aren’t we supposed to be there already?” Henry whined, 3 hours into their drive from Boston to Rockport the next day.

“Henry, stop asking the same question every five minutes! How old are you?” Emma reproved.

“But I’m hungry.”

“There are some candy bars left somewhere in the back.”

“I don’t want candy bars, I want… burger and fries.”

 

Emma sighed and started counting to ten. Before she even got to five though, something at the side of the road caught her attention.

A couple of yards ahead of them stood a black Mercedes, its front crushed against a roadside tree. Emma immediately stopped the bug and felt her face go pale when she noticed that someone was still in the car.

 

Oh no, that definitely wasn’t the way she wanted their trip to start.

 

“Mom, there’s someone inside the car!” Henry noticed at this moment.

Emma nodded slowly, not still processing the situation.

“We have to help!” Henry called already stepping out of the car. Emma’s brain switched back into working mode and she got out herself, following her son.

Behind the steering wheel of the other car sat a dark haired woman at about the same age as Emma. She was unconscious, but other than a small wound on her forehead Emma couldn’t see more injuries. Of course that didn't mean there weren't any.

“What are we going to do?” Henry asked disturbed “We can’t just leave her!"

“No, of course not. We should… call 911. Henry, go fetch my phone from the car. “

 

While Henry ran back to the bug, Emma tucked at the Mercedes’ driver’s door. Hoping and praying she searched for a pulse on the other woman’s wrist and was more than relieved when she found one. Her hands were ice cold though and Emma knew she had to do more than just wait around for the ambulance.

In an attempt to wake her up she gently touched the woman’s shoulders, speaking to her loudly but there was no reaction.

Henry came back with her phone and she turned to face him.

“Okay. So I’m gonna call for an ambulance, you go try find some blanket and maybe the first aid kit. I think they’re somewhere in the trunk.” Henry nodded and ran back to the bug while Emma dialed 911. While the connection build she noticed how badly her own hands were shaking and took a deep breath.

 

A few minutes later, Henry had already returned with a blanket in his arms, she hung up and stuffed the phone into her pocket.

“What did they say?” he asked, “Oh and I couldn’t find the first aid kit”.

“They’ll send an ambulance which will be here soon. We should just stay here and watch over her. Give me the blanket.”

She took the blanket from her son’s arms and spread it over the unconscious woman’s body.

“So we just… wait?” Henry asked unbelieving.

“We just wait.” Emma confirmed with a sigh.

“But… we should do something!”                      

“We can’t Henry. We have no idea what happened or what injuries she sustained. We could make things worse. So we wait and watch her and check for a pulse every few minutes.” When she saw the fear in her son’s eyes she sighed and crouched down to his size. “She will be okay, I promise. We already helped her by calling the ambulance and staying here until it arrives.” She gave him a reassuring hug before leaning against the Mercedes.

 

Henry stood there, his face glued onto the unconscious woman in the black car. He was chewing on his bottom lip like he always did when he was thinking about something. Emma knew something was still bothering him.

 

“What is it, Henry?” she queried, trying to hide her own agitated emotions to calm her son.

“Someone should hold her hand.”, he insisted, “To reassure her, you know, that everything will be okay? I would want someone to hold my hand.”

Emma’s heart ached a little by seeing her 13 year old son so worried and scared. After all he was still only a child.

“You’re right Henry.” She answered. “I would want that, too.”

She turned and slid down the car, sitting down on the asphalt. Carefully she took the brunette's left hand and cradled it in her own.

“She will be okay, right?” Henry asked, stepping close to his mom.

“Of course she will.” Emma replied hugging her son to her side with her free arm.

 

When finally the ambulance arrived, the paramedics asked a thousand and one questions that Emma couldn’t answer.

“How is she?” Emma eventually asked standing next to the ambulance, before it was about to drive off.

“She seems to be alright, despite being unconscious.”, the paramedic informed her, “She probably suffered a concussion, which is the reason she’s unconscious and we still have to think about internal injuries but as far as we go I would say she was quite lucky.”

Emma nodded.

“Where do you bring her?”

“Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport.”

The doors were closed and the ambulance drove off. Emma took a deep breath and looked around. The only ones left now were Henry and her, and the two men who had been called to tow the black Mercedes into town.

 

Slowly and silently Henry and she walked back to the yellow bug, sliding inside.

“So what do we do now?” Henry asked after a few minutes of silence.

“We drive to Rockport. That’s where we wanted to go, after all, isn’t it?” She turned to her son, offering him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

He only nodded and looked out of the window, while Emma started the engine and got back on the road.

“Will we visit her?”

Emma sighed. She knew this question would come, knowing what kind of person her son was. He always cared so much about others. She didn’t really understand where he got it from, considering how she had always been kind of a runner, but she was proud of him for this characteristic.

She half-turned her head to briefly look at him.

“Yes we will.”

Henry seemed relieved.

They stayed quiet for a few more minutes before Henry spoke up again again.

“You know, I… I kind of had this strange feeling that I’ve seen her before.”

“The woman in the car?” Emma wondered, not having any idea where her son would know the other woman from.

 

“Yes. I don’t know why or where I might have seen her, but… she seemed familiar. I don’t know… It’s stupid.”

“No! No, Henry it’s not stupid.” Emma was fast to answer, “It’s not stupid. Maybe you’ve seen someone who looks similar? There are a lot of people living in New York.”

“Yeah… Maybe.”

Henry didn’t really seem convinced but he kept quiet and so did Emma.

 

Fifteen minutes later they arrived in Rockport. They checked into the small bed and breakfast they always stayed at and unpacked their bags.

While unpacking a few of the vacation feelings came back to Emma and she felt lighter than on the drive here. This was their only vacation so she would make the best of it. Of course the accident they partly witnessed hadn’t been the greatest thing to start it off with, but she was confident that from now on it could only get better.

When she put her last shirt into the closet and closed its doors she turned to Henry with a smile.

“How about getting you that burger now?” she asked him.

His face lit up immediately.

“From the diner across the street?”

“Of course.”

 “Yeah!”

Henry dropped the comic he was browsing through on the bed and put on his shoes and jacket as fast as he could, already waiting at the door when Emma took her purse and joined him.

“Let’s go kid.” She said and laid a hand on his shoulder, before she opened the door.

 

They both ate a huge portion of fries with their burgers and finished with sharing a cup of ice cream.

“That was delicious!” Henry declared leaning back in the booth they were seated in.

“It was.” Emma agreed “What do you want to do now? It’s still early.”

Henry seemed to think for a moment before he asked almost hesitantly: “Could we… I mean… Do you think… Could we go to the hospital and see how the woman from the accident is?”

Emma took a moment to think about it. She had thought about this as well, after Henry had asked about it earlier. Even if she doubted they would get told anything. Still, she thought about what Henry said when they had waited for the ambulance. That he would have wanted someone to hold his hand. If she now put herself in the other woman’s position she would also be glad if someone would be at the hospital, asking for her well-being.

“I think, we can do that.”, she finally answered.

Henry’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Seriously? I thought you would say that we couldn’t or that they won’t tell us anything or something like that.”

Emma smiled at how smart her son was.

“I do think they won’t tell us anything, but I think we should still go there and see for ourselves.”

They got up and Emma paid the bill before they left the diner and got into the bug to drive over to the hospital they had only ever seen from the outside before.

 

The entrance area looked like one in any other hospital on this world. Emma told Henry to wait at one of the benches and walked over to the reception.

“Hello,”, she greeted, “My name is Emma Swan. My son and I were at the scene of an accident earlier today and the paramedics told us they would bring her here. She would probably be a Jane Doe in her thirties and came in two hours ago? We wondered how she is?”

The receptionist clicked through something on her computer, before answering eventually.

“Yeah, here she is. She’s still in the ER, but that’s all I can tell you.”

“Thank you.”

 

Emma returned to Henry.

“Good news kid, at least we weren’t turned down just yet. She’s still in the ER. Let’s go look there.”

They followed the signs and entered the ER a few minutes later. It seemed quite calm. They looked around and found a nurse close by.

Emma asked: “We’re looking for a dark haired Jane Doe, she came in two hours ago from a car accident.”

“Bed three.”, the nurse answered after shortly checking her files.

Before Emma could say thanks the nurse was already gone again, busy with another patient. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that calm at all, Emma reconsidered.

They walked over to bed number three and spotted the, by now familiar, frame of the brunette woman. Nobody was around so they slipped between the curtains and looked down at the still unconscious woman. By now she was clad in a hospital gown, the wound on her forehead was cleaned and covered and next to her bed were a couple of infusions and a regularly beeping monitor that showed her heartbeat.

 

“She’s beautiful.” Henry suddenly said, catching Emma off guard. But she had to agree with him. The brunette was beautiful, even in her current state.

“Do you think she’s okay?” Henry asked, turning to his mom.

“I think so, kid. Otherwise she would not still be in the ER but in some patient’s room already or even at the ICU. And from what I know, her heartbeat seems pretty stable.”

Henry followed her gaze to the monitor next to them and seemed satisfied. He turned to watch the brunette again, a strange expression appearing on his face that Emma couldn’t quite read. It was definitely worry but also some kind of affection and once again Emma wondered where the kid had that characteristic from. Still in thoughts she didn’t notice that Henry had taken the brunettes hand into his own until a deep voice sounded behind her.

“What do you think you’re doing here?” a doctor asked “Who are you?”

She spun around facing the blonde man who stared at them questioningly.

“We… We were the ones who found her and called the ambulance. We were headed to Rockport anyways and wondered how she was.” Emma explained, placing a hand on Henry’s shoulder protectively, who had dropped the brunette’s and when he doctor appeared.

The blonde doctor’s features softened as he answered: “That’s very nice of you but you can’t be here. From what I got you’re not family.”

 

In this moment a sound coming from the bed behind Emma and Henry made them all turn their attention back to the dark haired woman.

Her eyelids flickered before she managed to open her eyes and a pained moan escaped her mouth.

“She’s waking up!” Henry stated agitated.

The doctor brushed past Emma and Henry, immediately checking her pupils’ reaction and the data on the monitor.

“Can you hear me? Miss, can you hear me? You had an accident; you’re at a hospital, okay?”

“Hmmm.”, came the answer from the brunette.

“Can you tell me your name?”

“Re…” she cleared her throat, but her voice still sounded hoarse from not being used for a longer time period when she finally managed to answer: “Regina. Regina Mills.”

 

“Okay Miss Mills. How are you feeling?”

“I have a terrible headache.”, Regina answered, closing her eyes, her face contorting in pain.

“You will get some medication against that, you suffer a concussion, but otherwise you are fine. No broken bones, no internal injuries, just a cut on your forehead and a few bruises.”

“Hmm…”

The doctor turned to tell a nurse what medicament she should get before he turned his attention to Emma and Henry again.

“Would you please leave now?”

“Of course.” Emma answered.

“But… but she’s awake now!” Henry argued.

“I still have to ask you to leave now.”

At the sound of Henry’s voice Regina’s eyes had opened again, unnoticed by the three other people until a small voice piped up.

“Henry?”

“What?”

Three pairs of eyes shot back to the woman in the bed, but it was Henry who stepped closer and locked eyes with the brunette.

“How do you know my name?” he asked.

A small smile appeared on her face as she closed her eyes again and whispered barely audible:

“Long story.”

“Okay, okay.” The blonde doctor seemed to have overcome his surprise and gently pushed back Henry from the bed. “You really have to leave now.”

“No!” It now came louder from Regina. “No please. They can stay… or… or come back later. Please.”

The doctor seemed seriously confused as his gaze travelled between his patient and Emma and Henry but then he sighed defeated.

“Okay, come back tomorrow during visiting hours.”

“Goodbye.” Henry said “And get well!” without hesitation he took the brunette’s hand in his own again and gave it a reassuring squeeze, before he stepped back to where Emma stood who had been holding her breath for a moment when she saw the intimate gesture her son offered to a complete stranger.

“Mom?” Henry asked, tugging at her hand.

“Yes, of course. We will come back tomorrow, then. Goodbye and get well.”

She offered a little smile to the brunette who returned it before closing her eyes again, seeming utterly exhausted.

 

Emma and Henry left the hospital and walked over the parking lot to the yellow bug.

“What was that?” she asked when they both were seated in the car and she started the engine.

“What was what?” Henry asked.

“She heard your voice and knew your name. Do you know her?”

“I… I don’t know. I told you she seemed familiar but… I don’t know, I feel like I know her. Like she’s somehow important.”

Emma took a moment to look at her son to see if he was joking but all she saw on his face was pure honesty. He believed in what he just told her and Emma sighed.

This whole thing was utterly confusing and so not what she had hoped for when starting this trip. She wanted to get away from problems and confusion and now she got twice as much of it.

 

“Oh, oh, Mom, look, they show that new action movie tonight. Can we go see it?”

Henry pointed out of the window towards the local cinema and Emma couldn’t help but smile. At least Henry still had fun, despite how their trip began and really that was all she needed to feel better herself.

“Of course we can, kid. We’ll just go home and walk over to the cinema later, okay? Maybe go to the beach before?”

“Yes, that sound’s great.”

****


	2. Chapter 2

**_ Chapter 2 _ **

Their evening had turned out really nice. They took a long walk on the beach before heading to the cinema and watching another of Henry’s beloved Marvel movies. When they came home Henry had fallen asleep almost the minute he fell onto his bed. Emma had smiled gently and pulled the comforter over her son before settling into her bed as well. She felt too tired to read so she just turned out the lights and closed her eyes.

When she woke up the next morning she felt slightly confused. Her dreams had been strange but she couldn’t really remember what they were about, only that wherever she was, she had felt comfortingly safe.  Sighing she sat up in her bed. At least the dreamcatcher she always had on her keys worked, whatever her dream was, it obviously was a nice one.

She pulled herself out of the blankets and went over to Henrys bed where he still slept soundly. Lovingly she stroked some strands of hair off his face. He was 13 already, not long and he would reject such caresses. But right now he was asleep and Emma felt all the joys of motherhood while she just stood there for a moment and watched her son.

But she finally decided she had to wake him up. It was already past eleven and if they wanted to have something left of the day they would have to get up now.

She put a hand on his shoulder “Henry, time to get up.”

All she received as an answer was a reluctant “Hmmm”

“I’ll get a shower and when I’m finished I expect you to be awake, ok?”

“Hmm”

Emma smiled to herself and gathered her things to get in the shower.

When she was finished Henry was actually awake and had already gathered his own things to occupy the bathroom. She toweled her hair and took it up to a ponytail while she waited for Henry to be ready for breakfast.

She walked over to the window and enjoyed the view outside. This small town provided the peace she felt herself longing for more and more with each passing year in New York.

Of course she liked the opportunities New York provided, not only for her but also for Henry. But this peace, it was something she welcomed as well.

“Let’s go have breakfast. I’m hungry.”

Henry had stepped next to her without her noticing and followed her gaze outside before he had spoken.

With a little sigh she turned back to the room and nodded.

“Of course.”

 

Over breakfast Emma asked, “So what do you want to do today?”

Henry took another spoon of his cereal and then stirred in it it for a while before he looked up at his mother.

“Can we, like… can we go to the hospital?”

Emma sighed. Ever since the incident with the brunette woman knowing Henrys name she was eager to banish the memory of it from her mind. She didn’t know what to make of it and of Henrys strange affection to her but she knew she couldn’t deny her son the visit she had promised.

And if she was honest with herself she also wanted to see the other woman again.  She had something… mystic about her that Emma couldn’t really put her finger on.

Finally she nodded.

“I guess we can.”

The wide smile she received from Henry made her feel lighter, too, and she smiled in return. They continued eating for a while until Henry raised his voice.

“That dreamcatcher on your key chain,” he began, “do you believe it works?”

Emma sat down her cup of coffee and gave her son a quick scan to make sure he was serious about that question. When she found he obviously was she thought about it.

“Well, I think it’s a nice thing believing in it. I mean having something to keep nightmares from you is always quite nice.”

“But does it really work?”

Emma shrugged, confused by her sons line of argumentation.

“I don’t know Henry. Why is this so important?”

He stirred in his cereal again, the rest of it certainly uneatable by now, drowned in milk.

“I had this dream last night.” He hesitated to continue and Emma could see the internal conflict he was having reflected on his face. After 13 years of experience she could tell that whatever this dream was about it was bothering him somehow, but she couldn’t quite figure out why he was so unsure about telling her. Even though he was getting older, up until now he still shared a lot with her, especially the things that bothered him and this dream definitely was.

She was just about to encourage him to talk to her when he continued of his own:

“Don’t think I’m crazy if I tell you about it, promise?”

“Why would I think you’re crazy?”

“Just promise.”

His hazel eyes were pleading and she felt worry growing in her stomach at his strange behavior.

“I promise. Tell me”

He took a deep breath and finally set down his spoon before starting.

“It was a strange dream, a really strange one, but I’m not really sure it was a real nightmare because it was not really scary. Just… strange. I was in this town, it looked a little like Rockport, and there were a lot of people around me and everyone seemed to be my friends or something. And you were there, too, and…”

“And?” Emma prompted when Henry stopped again.

“the woman from the accident, Regina, she was there, too. She was very kind to me and it was strange, I felt like she was really important to me. You were talking to her.”

He looked up from his bowl of drowned cereal to meet her eyes and Emma couldn’t completely hide the surprise in her face.

“You do think I’m crazy!” Henry immediately concluded and was about to get up from the table.

“No! No I don’t! Henry, I don’t.”, she hurried to answer and reached for his hand. He sat back down again and watched her as she tried to explain.

“It was just a dream, you know? Sometimes in our dreams our brain works out things that we don’t really understand while awake. So it’s only normal for you to dream about Ms Mills and if the dream wasn’t scary, then I guess the dreamcatcher is working for you.”

She offered him a smile and relaxed when he seemed to believe her words and his expression evened out.

“Okay. Will we go see her after breakfast?”

His thoughtfulness had quickly changed into his usual excitement and Emma could only smile about his fast change of moods.

“We will. Let me just finish my coffee.”

“Can I have the roomkey and go back up again already?”

“Sure.”

Emma pulled the key from her pocket and handed it to Henry who immediately sprung off and towards the stairs. Leaning back she sipped her coffee and couldn’t help but think about what Henry had just told her. Of course dreams were just dreams and she was glad it weren’t nightmares that bothered him but what was making her think was his question about the dreamcatcher and its effectiveness. Sure, it only was some old native American cultural object but maybe there was just a little bit of truth to the stories?

She remembered thinking about it only an hour ago after waking from a rather strange dream herself. She couldn’t recall what the dream was about but it was not unpleasant either.

Taking the last sip of her coffee she shook her head to clear it from the confusing line of thoughts and got up to bring the dishes to the kitchen and follow Henry upstairs to get ready for the day that lay ahead.

Emma hoped it would provide her with an answer to yesterday’s strange encounter with Regina Mills.

 

Stepping into the hospital’s foyer Henry was almost bouncing up and down from excitement and Emma found it was about time to give him a talk about how to behave in a hospital.

“Henry”, she started and the seriousness in her voice immediately brought a halt to Henry’s moves, “We’re in a hospital. There are sick people here and people that are very worried about their loved ones. So please don’t act as if this is some kind of holiday fun. Also when we visit Ms Mills don’t jump around like this. She’s had an accident and is probably still very exhausted and in pain, don’t bombard her with question, ok?”

Henry looked at her and finally nodded, looking almost a little bit guilty for his previous excitement. “Okay.”

“Fine.” Emma ruffled through his hair and smiled at him to not completely destroy his excitement and they headed for the information desk to ask which room to go to.

They were sent to the third floor and now knocked at the door to room 307. Opening the door Emma spotted a nurse standing beside the hospital bed.

“Oh excuse us, we can come back later.” Emma was fast to say but the already slightly familiar voice of the brunette in the bed stopped her.

“No, it’s okay. Come in.”

Emma nodded and entered the room, Henry behind her. The nurse smiled at them, stuffed her stethoscope back into her pocket and left the room.

Now standing in the middle of the room Emma felt how awkward this whole situation was. She didn’t know this woman and standing in her hospital room now felt way too intimate. But as the day before it was Henry who saved the situation, stepping closer to the bed in which the brunette was propped up into a sitting position.

She looked much better than the day before, even though the signs of exhaustion were still prominent on her features.

“Hey Regina.” Henry said and Emma winced at the boys usage of the woman’s first name but relaxed when he quickly followed with: “Is it okay if I call you Regina?”  

“Yes, of course.” the brunette answered, a smile on her lips.

Henry bridged the last distance and now stood directly next to the bed.

“I’m Henry, and that’s my mom Emma.” He introduced the both of them and Emma offered Regina a small smile while also stepping closer to stand behind her son.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, glancing over the various infusions and medical equipment that was set up next to the bed.

“Better.”, Regina answered, following Emma’s glance, “I guess a thank you is due. The nurse told me you two found me at the side of the road and called for an ambulance.”

“Yeah, well…”, Emma felt herself blush, even though she didn’t really know why, “it was the right thing to do. We couldn’t just leave you there.”

“Thank you nonetheless.”

There was a short silence before Henry burst out the question he was so eager to ask since the day before.

“Why did you know my name?”

Emma squeezed his shoulders in order to rebuke him. She could see the way the brunette’s body tensed at the question and was fast to level her son’s imprudent words.

“You don’t have to…” but she was cut off when Regina interrupted her.

“No. No, it’s okay. I understand that he wants to know and I guess you want to know too.”

Emma could only half-smile at this because honestly, yes, she wanted to know. The fact that a complete stranger recognized her son at his voice disturbed her.

 

Regina took a deep breath and winced at the pain that shot through her chest at the move.

“It’s a long story. It’s complicated and…”

Emma could see the reluctance in the brunette’s features while telling this and the strange feeling that Regina Mills held something mystic only grew.

“It’s…” the brunette started again only to break off a second later.

“I actually don’t really know how to explain.”

“It can’t be that hard?” Henry asked.

“Henry!” Emma rebuked him. Did her son forget any sense of behavior now?

“It’s ok.” Regina answered, seeming to take no offense at all of Henry’s repeatedly discourteous behavior. “But actually it really is that hard, Henry.”

“Why?”

Regina chuckled a little helplessly.

“Well, you don’t actually know me, right?”

Henry shook his head.

“But you seem familiar and I dreamt about you.”

“Henry!” Emma felt herself blush at her son’s behavior. This woman was a stranger and her son acted as if she was an old friend or something. It made her feel uncomfortable, especially because she herself had absolutely no idea what to make of this woman who had such an impact on her son.

 

At Henry’s last words Regina’s eyes had widened in surprise but the expression disappeared as fast as it came.  But before anyone could say anything more the strange situation was interrupted when a doctor entered the room. It was a different one than the day before in the Emergency Room.

“Hello, I see you have visitors. That’s nice because I’m afraid to tell you that you’ll have to stay for a few more days.”

For the first time since Emma and Henry had entered the room the brunette’s expression changed from genuine to downright scared.

The doctor turned to Emma and Henry “Would you mind to step out for a moment?”

“Sure.” Emma answered, guiding Henry towards the door.

 

Once in the hallway Henry turned to face his mother.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” he asked, concern painting his features.

“Of course” Emma answered, “they’ll probably just want to make sure that she’s alright before they discharge her.”

“Hmm. Why do you think she can’t explain why she knew my name?”

Emma sighed. Sometimes Henry’s curious nature was really trying, especially when he was asking questions that Emma couldn’t even remotely find an answer to. Though, this time Emma actually had an answer. It simply wasn’t possible for Regina to recognize Henry without some rather unconventional explanation and that the brunette was reluctant to give such was only natural, but of course she wouldn’t tell Henry that.

Instead she settled for simply answering “I don’t know.”

“Hmm…”

Emma observed Henry while he was walking down the hallway towards the window at the end of it. Sighing once again she leaned against the wall next to the door and closed her eyes for a moment.

This really wasn’t how she had imagined their trip. This was far from being relaxing and forgetting about problems, instead it was creating new questions by the second.

With Henry looking outside the window a few feet away Emma let herself think about possible answers to how Regina Mills knew her son.

Was she some kind of stalker? Or worse, some kind of contract murderer?

Emma shook her head. No, that was ridiculous. Something about the brunette might be a little off but she definitely was no criminal, Emma had seen enough of those in her job and Regina Mills definitely didn’t fit into this category.

But what else would be a reasonable explanation?

Emma was once again interrupted from her thoughts when the door opened again and the doctor left. Henry came running back from the end of the hallway and immediately re-entered the room before Emma could even think of saying something. She followed him and closed the door behind her.

“What did the doctor say?” Henry had already asked when she stepped further into the room.

With only one look at the brunette Emma could tell that whatever news the doctor had brought, it weren’t good ones. She stepped behind her son to squeeze his shoulders and gently shook her head when he turned to give her a questioning gaze.

 

Emma could see Regina swallowing thickly before trying on a reassuring smile and answering:

“He only said that I’m going to have to stay for a little longer than expected. Some of the test results were a little off and they want to make sure I’m alright before they discharge me.”

Knowing that there was more to the brunette’s answer than what was said, Emma leaned forward to tell her son “See, I told you. Now why don’t you run down to the kiosk and get all of us some chocolate. I’m sure that’ll light up everyone’s mood.”

“Okay.”  Henry’s eyes lit up at the perspective of chocolate.  
Emma fished out her wallet from her pocket and handed him a few dollars.

 

When the door closed behind him Emma turned to the brunette to really focus on her for the first time.

“I’m sorry for his behavior.”, she said, “he usually isn’t that direct, you just seem to have some special impact on him.”

Regina gave her a small smile.

“I really don’t mind it.”

Emma only nodded.

“Those test results, the doctor didn’t only say they want to keep you under observation, did he?”

The brunette’s face clouded.

“No.” she finally said, “some of my blood test were alarming, something about a low iron count. They think that’s what caused the accident, that I passed out. So now they have to run more tests to find out why.”

She sighed, running a hand through her hair.

Emma didn’t really know how to react. She wanted to offer some comfort but knew that she wasn’t really in the position to do so.

Instead she decided for a change of topic.

“So why is it really that you knew Henry? I mean, you recognized him by his voice. Do I have to be worried?”

 

Regina sighed again but looked up to face Emma eventually.

“As I said it’s a long story and it will sound crazy to you. But no, you don’t have to be worried. I’m not some kind of sick stalker or anything.”

That actually made Emma chuckle.

“Relieved to hear that.”

A smile built on Regina’s lips.

“Yeah, I can imagine. But, seriously, I will tell you. It’s just…” Her tone had become serious again and so did Emma.

“It’ll probably freak you out. You’ll declare me insane and run from here and forbid Henry to come here again and probably even pack your things and end your trip early to return to New York.”

“Wait, what?!”

Emma felt like being hit with a blunt object and stumbled backwards a few steps. Who was this woman to know those things about their lives?

“Damn it.” Regina cursed, “See? That’s what I meant.”  
She sighed and took a deep breath before continuing:

“I know you, Emma, we’ve met before and have quite some history together. You don’t remember because losing your memory was the only thing that could save you and Henry. But this life, these memories, they’re not really yours and eventually you’ll have to remember who you really are.”

Emma could only stare at the brunette in disbelief. Confusion whirled around her but was soon replaced with anger. Suddenly she felt her hands trembling and her face blushing red. Who was this woman to tell her that her whole life had been a lie?

“Are you insane?!”

Regina actually gave a short laugh at the irony of this question.

“I told you.” She said calmly.

“No, no you didn’t tell me!” Emma continued, trying hard to keep herself from yelling too loud and drawing the whole stations attention on them.

 “You can’t just roll into my life and draw my son to you and tell me that all my memories are just lies which obviously you know everything about! Who are you?!”

“Emma, I’m sorry.” Regina tried to calm the blonde but failed. Emma didn’t want to calm down.

She was angry at the brunette for saying those things, scared because of what the other woman knew about her, but what really made her panic were the feelings of hurt, betrayal and doubt that came with the brunette’s words. They held absolutely no truth, they couldn’t, but still somewhere inside Emma was a part that accepted the accusations as plain truth and reacted to them.

 

“Emma?” Regina’s voice, now not only calm but also slightly worried ripped her from the chaos inside.

“What?! What more lies do you want to tell me?” she snapped, facing the other woman but the expression on Regina’s face made her stop momentarily. It showed sympathy and a hint of guilt.

“You’re crying.”

“Wha..?”   
Emma reached up to touch her cheeks and found them moist with tears. She was taken aback from her body’s extreme reaction and backed away a few more steps from the bed until her back hit the wall. She leaned against it and took a shuddering breath to calm herself down, brushing away the tears from her cheeks. When she heard the door open she startled and quickly turned to face away from it, not wanting her son to see her so disheveled.

 

“I got the chocolate.” Henry announced, holding up a rectangular form.

“I hope you like mint-chocolate? It’s mom and my favorite so I just thought maybe you’d like it too?” He walked over to hand the chocolate to Regina and gave her a wide smile.

“Mint-chocolate is great.” She answered giving him a half-smile and taking the chocolate bar from his hands.

Glancing over to where Emma was still facing the wall, taking deep intakes of breath she looked at Henry again.

“Thank you for visiting me today and thank you for the chocolate but I’m still very tired and my head hurts so I’d like to sleep for a few more hours, if it’s okay?”

“Sure.” Henry nodded, “I hope you get well soon. We’ll visit you again, we’re staying her for a couple of more days anyways. Right mom?”

He turned to look at his mother and Emma took a last deep breath before turning to face Henry.

“Yes, but let’s go now. Regina needs rest and I’m not feeling too well myself at the moment.”

“You’re having a migraine again?” Henry asked his attention immediately on his mother alone and a look of deep concern on his face.

“Maybe. I just wanna get home and take a pill.”

“Sure. Bye Regina. See you!”

“Good Bye, Henry.”

Emma was already out of the room. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Back at their room at the B&B Emma pretended to take a pill and lay down on her bed while Henry closed the curtains and turned off the lights. He had put a glass of water on her nightstand and informed her that he would be downstairs with Mrs Fowler, he woman who owned the B&B.  
Emma had waited until the door closed and she could be sure that Henry was gone before she screamed out all of her confusing feelings into her pillow.   
There was so much going on inside her that she didn’t even know where to begin with bringing to the chaos.   
She found herself trembling and shaking and once again felt tears running down her cheeks. Taking deep shuddering breaths she tried to calm herself down before breaking out into a full-blown panic attack. But all her efforts were worth nothing when at the memory of Regina’s words and the feeling of loss and resignation that came with them her breath caught in her throat and she gasped for air.   
Terrified she crawled into a ball under the blankets and tried to remind herself that she was still herself and life would go on. 

Completely losing track of time she lay there for what seemed to be hours. It was only when she heard someone in the bathroom that she opened her eyes again. She must have fallen asleep from exhaustion. When Henry came back into the room he looked at her apologetically.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you.”  
Emma pushed herself into a sitting position and stretched her back.   
“No, it’s okay. What time is it?”  
“A little after four. Is your headache better?”  
“Yes.” Emma ran a hand through her hair and rubbed at her temples to gather herself after that terrifying panic attack from earlier. She wasn’t used to them anymore, couldn’t even remember the last time it happened.  
“You sure about that?” Henry asked, stepping closer and sitting down next to her.   
“You still look a bit, I don’t know, confused”  
“I’m just… not really awake, yet. I’m fine, promise.”  
“Okay so do you think we could go out and play soccer at the beach? The weather’s still really great!”  
The excitement in Henry’s voice and his wide smile as well as the domesticity of the situation managed to finally ground Emma again.   
“Sure we can. Let’s get dressed and borrow Mrs Fowler’s ball.”  
“Great!” Henry jumped up from the bed, took his jacket and put on his shoes before storming out the door yelling: “I’ll wait downstairs.”  
Emma smiled to herself and could almost feel peace rushing over her while she put on her own jacket and shoes, locked the door and followed her son downstairs. 

On their walk to the beach Henry told her about how he’d spend the time she was asleep baking with Mrs Fowler. Since they came here every year Henry was always welcomed to help her and he really loved that old lady.   
The fresh air cleared Emma’s thoughts and when they reached the beach she almost felt stupid for letting Regina’s words affect her that much. This should not really be her life? That was ridiculous. Something must be wrong with Regina’s head; maybe the accident caused more damage than originally thought because this absolutely was her life. Emma could feel the wind in her hair, could breathe the fresh air that tasted slightly salty from the ocean, she could feel the warmth that the last rays of sunlight provided and she could hear the seagulls that were circling around a fisher boat out on the sea. Above all she could watch her son as he ran after the ball, a big smile on his face that was red from his excitement and the wind.   
This was her life and it was a good one and nothing and no one could change that. No one could take away the memory of this moment and of all the moments before.   
Taking a deep breath Emma focused to receive the ball from Henry and, as she did so, decided to just indulge in this very moment and not think about Regina Mill’s or her confusing words anymore.

The next day started very enjoyable with the sun waking Emma when it shone through the curtains into their small room. Getting up she walked over to the window to open it and let in some of the clear morning air.   
Wrapping herself in a blanket she stood at the open window and looked out on a small private harbor, watching the seagulls that occasionally landed on a few of the boats.   
This night, as the last, she had had some strange, yet seemingly nice dream. With the second she awoke she had forgotten about its content but the warm feeling of love and family that had come with it stayed. Turning away from the window she saw Henry drawing his blanket closer around his shoulders, the chilly air causing him to wake.  
Blinking against the sunlight that blended him he sat up and rubbed his eyes.  
“Mom, it’s cold.”, he complained but Emma only grinned at that.  
“It’s nice.” She replied, “And good morning to you, too, son.”  
“What? Yeah, good morning. Can we close the window now?”  
Emma sighed and stepped back to do as Henry asked. Walking back over to her own bed she sat down on it and let the blanket glide from her shoulders.  
“Did you sleep well?”, she asked her son who had turned so they sat opposite one another.  
“Yeah. I think so.” He seemed a little unsure about his answer and Emma had a vague idea as of why.  
“I dreamt about that town again.” He said and Emma’s idea got confirmed, her good mood darkening slightly at the thought of Regina Mills.  
“We were there again and so was Regina. There was some kind of party or something, everyone seemed to be celebrating. It was really nice. The old lady that owned the diner reminded me of Mrs Fowler.”   
Emma sighed at the brunette’s mention. Her son really found something in her, if he kept dreaming about her.   
“But speaking of Regina, can we visit her again later? I really wanna know more about her. If she can’t tell me why she knew my name than she can at least tell more about herself, right?”  
“Right.”, Emma agreed reluctantly pushing herself off the bed and headed to the bathroom.

Two hours later, after breakfast and a walk along the beach on which she had insisted, they were entering the hospital again and Emma could feel the knot in her stomach tighten with every inch they moved closer to room number 307. She really didn’t feel ready to face the brunette again after yesterday’s events.  
Henry only knocked briefly before entering the room and Emma was about to call him out on that but swallowed the words when she noticed that the brunette in the bed was still asleep.   
Henry gave her a questioning gaze.  
“Can we still stay?” he asked.  
For a brief moment Emma thought about leaving again, it was the perfect opportunity to do so, but the suppliant expression on her son’s face made her nod her agreement. While she pulled out a chair from the table Henry had already taken the other one and carried it next to Regina’s bed.   
It began to worry Emma how affectionate Henry was towards the brunette. Not that she would have something against Henry’s compassion in general, but with Regina Mills she just didn’t know what to make of it. 

Henry had just settled into the chair that now stood at the bedside when Regina awoke.   
Blinking against the sun that was shining in from the window she rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes before finally they adjusted to the room’s brightness.  
“Hey.”, Henry shot a beaming smile at her which was immediately though still sleepily returned by Regina.  
“Hello, Henry.”  
She pushed herself into a sitting position, shoved a hand through her tangled hair and then noticed Emma seated at the table.  
“Hello Emma.”  
“Hey.” Came Emma’s short reply.   
Before the situation could get awkward between the two women Henry already spoke again.  
“How are you feeling?”  
“A lot better. I’m still very tired but as long as the meds work at least the headache’s gone.”  
“That’s good.” Henry smiled, relief showing on his face.  
“So… I thought, since you couldn’t really tell us how you knew my name yesterday, maybe you could tell us something about yourself?”  
He looked over to his mother as if to ask if it was okay for him to ask this question. Emma only nodded slightly. What else could she do? Even if she didn’t approve, the question was already out.  
Regina, too, briefly looked at the blonde and Emma only slightly shook her head. She really didn’t want to talk about yesterday’s events now, least of all in front of Henry. Also, she thought, Regina kind of owed them a little information about herself, so she settled into her chair and waited for the brunette to answer.  
“I can, if you want me to.”, she finally said, turning her attention back on Henry as Emma obviously wasn’t too keen on conversation today. 

“So, where do you want me to start?” she asked Henry who was already glued to her lips in excitement.  
“Where are you from and where did you want to go when you had the accident?”  
“I’m from a town called Storybrooke and I was driving out of town because I had to find someone.”  
“Storybrooke? That’s… a strange name. I’ve never heard of it.”  
Regina smiled fondly.   
“It’s a very small town and quite hidden. We don’t have much of a tourist industry so it’s not unusual you haven’t heard of it.”  
“Is it far away from here?”  
“No actually not. It’s only about an hour, maximum.”  
“Maybe we can visit you, when you’re discharged? Can we mom?”  
Henry turned towards Emma, excitement flushing his cheeks.   
“Maybe.” Emma answered to satisfy her son, but already knew that she didn’t ever want to visit Storybrooke.  
“What do you work?” Henry continued asking Regina.  
“I’m the mayor.”  
“You’re the mayor?!” Henry’s eyes widened in disbelief.  
“Seriously? That’s so cool! Like do you rule the town?”  
Regina smiled at the boy’s excitement.  
“Kind of. But it’s more organizing it, really.”  
“Still cool. Okay, so… do you have family? Are you married?”

At that question Regina’s expression darkened slightly, unnoticed by Henry, but not by Emma, who had been watching the brunette closely.   
Her voice was not giving away anything but from the change on her face Emma could sense that her next answer probably wasn’t going to be the whole truth.  
“I’m not married.” The brunette replied before pausing shortly, “but I do have some family in town.”  
Henry nodded, tilting his head sideways while thinking about more questions to ask.   
“What do you like doing in your freetime?” he finally asked.  
“I love reading. I have my own little library at home, but I also like to be outside. I went riding a lot.”  
“You ride? Oh that’s so cool!” Henry called out, “I always wanted to learn how to ride. You know, like cowboy’s do, or maybe like knight’s in battle. But we live in central New York and it’s hard to find a stable there.”

Emma watched the conversation between the two, really more observing than listening. Everything the brunette said seemed absolutely reasonable and… average - nothing that would indicate any mental confusion to explain her incredible statements from the day before. Actually, Emma found herself thinking, the brunette sounded quite interesting and if it weren’t for her suspicion and the bright memory of the panic attack she gave her, she would probably engage herself into the conversation. They had a lot of similar interests, more than she had with any of the men she dated lately. But with yesterday’s experience in mind Emma found herself unable to even physically move closer to the brunette than she was now. That was partly because she found herself scared of what else Regina knew about her and Henry’s life and partly because she really didn’t want to closer examine the chaotic emotions that still whirled inside her when thinking about the statement that her life should not really be hers as ridiculous as it was.  
So instead of joining the conservation Emma leaned back and observed. Telling herself that seeing Henry so excited and happy about his conversational partner would be enough to put her mind at ease. 

When her phone rang in her pocket she excused herself and left the room to take the call.   
“Emma? It’s Mrs Fowler. I wanted to let you know that my son is in town and he’s going to go on a hunting trip for 4 days, starting tomorrow. He and I were wondering if maybe Henry would like to join him. I know you come here every year and I thought that at some point you would have seen everything and the boy could be bored. He already asked if he could help me with anything yesterday.”  
Emma couldn’t help the smile that was spreading on her lips at the old woman’s offer. She really was a kind-hearted person.  
“Hello, Mrs Fowler. That’s really nice of you and your son. I’m gonna ask Henry if he wants to and we’ll tell you when we come back later, okay?”  
“Of course. Just ring at my door.”  
“We will. Goodbye.”  
“Goodbye, Emma”  
Emma ended the call and put her phone back into her pocket before re-entering the room.  
“Who was that?” Henry asked, when she sat down on her chair again.  
“Mrs Fowler. Her son is in town, you remember Michael? He wanted to offer you to go on a four-days hunting trip with him starting tomorrow.”  
“Really?! May I? Please?” His eyes lit up and he jumped from his chair to rush over to Emma, giving her the best puppy eyes he could manage.   
Emma only smiled at her son.  
“Of course you can. I wouldn’t have told you otherwise. I told Mrs Fowler we’ll talk to her when we come back.”  
“Thank you!”   
He hugged her and Emma gladly returned the hug, temporarily forgetting about her troubles.   
“Can we go back and tell her right now?” he asked, bouncing up and down after they parted.  
“We can, but first you have to say Goodbye to Regina. You can’t just insist on visiting her and let her tell you her life story and then rush off to enjoy yourself with someone else.”   
Emma meant what she said. She may not be Regina’s biggest fan, but she would not tolerate her son toying with the people around him as it fit him. Luckily Henry wasn’t at all that type of child as he turned to look back at Regina and then at Emma again.   
“I wouldn’t do that!” He said, sounding almost a little offended at what Emma had indicated, before walking back over to Regina.  
He sat down on the bedside.  
“Is it okay if I go on that trip? Will you be okay if we’re not here to visit you every day?”  
For a moment Regina only stared at the boy in suprise, before finally finding her speech again.  
“Of course, I will, Henry. Go and enjoy your holidays, I will be fine!” she said, giving Henry a reassuring look.  
Emma, though, could see the twinkling of tears in the brunette’s eyes at Henry’s words. And though she was immensely proud of the fact that apparently she had done some good parenting when it came to teaching her son compassion and respect, she also found her concerns regarding Henry’s affection to Regina growing. 

“Maybe mom could visit you, so you don’t have to be alone the whole time.”  
Henry’s words had ripped Emma from her thoughts and now she found herself looked at from the two seated on the bed. Though Regina obviously tried to look indifferent Emma did notice the bit of hope in the brunette’s eyes and couldn’t help a feeling of sympathy at it.  
“Maybe.”, she answered offering both a smile.   
“Great!”, Henry replied, turning his attention back to Regina, “and maybe when I’m back they’ll already discharge you.”  
“Hopefully”, Regina returned, smiling at the boy’s optimism.  
“Goodbye then and see you in four days.” Henry offered her another wide smile, before jumping off the bed and walking towards Emma.   
“Let’s go talk to Mrs Fowler!”  
“Sure.”  
Henry already opened the door while Emma still stood at the table, looking at Regina, an awkward silence filling the space between them.  
“Well, see you, then, I guess.” Emma finally said.  
“See you.” Regina returned, smiling at her as if understanding that she probably wouldn’t visit until Henry got back. 

The next morning they had an early breakfast before Henry and Michael left around 8am. Emma decided to go back to bed for a few more hours after saying goodbye to Henry. He had been so excited that he hadn’t slept much the previous night and consequently neither did Emma.   
When she awoke again it was already 1pm. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t as nice as it had been the previous days and the sun was well hidden behind some heavy clouds.   
Emma decided to go for a run along the beach nonetheless.   
She hadn’t had the chance to go running for the past days and she loved the beach here so it was the perfect opportunity. She also hoped for the fresh air to clear her thoughts. She had strange dreams again, only this time they weren’t quite as pleasant as the past ones. Though she still couldn’t remember the exact content, the feeling the dream arouse had stayed with her after awakening and it was a strange mixture of love and gratitude and sadness and abandonment.  
Putting on some suitable clothes and her sneakers she left the room and locked the door, her gaze dropping on the dreamcatcher pendant at her key. It seemed it didn’t quite work as well as legends told after all.

Running along the beach she felt the wind in her hair and on her skin and how her heart pumped the blood through her veins. The simple act of running calmed her thoughts. Remembering yesterday’s visit at the hospital and how utterly normal the brunette had seemed she felt stupid for freaking out about some silly words. God knew why Regina had told them. Instead Emma found herself thinking of how similar both their interests were, reading, being outside, somehow escaping the real world for some time. That’s exactly what Emma liked to do in her free time, when she had a day off from work and Henry was at school. She’d go to the Central Park and sit down on some bench, burying her nose in a good book.   
Sadly she hadn’t had the chance to do exactly that for quite a while now. Working for the NYPD in the robbery department had been rough lately as they were looking for the culprits of a jeweler’s robbery for over three weeks now and still had no lead. Emma really hoped her colleagues would solve the case while she was on vacation, even though that was a little egoistic. But the case had stripped her off nearly all of her alone time and she really needed that sometimes. She enjoyed being with Henry, of course, but due to not having a significant other, or even a close friend for all she cared, she liked being alone as well. The whole dating thing didn’t work out anyhow. Emma dated at least 10 guys in the past 5 months and none of them were even remotely candidates for a longer relationship as much as Emma had hoped for them to be. Being a single mother was slowly starting to strain her and she embarrassingly began feeling like one of those women’s magazine’s all-time single women who indulged in cleaning and cooking.  
Her last date, the guy with the four women at the same time, was at the top of her list of “idiots I failed to realize as such when we first met”.   
If she at least had some real friends she probably wouldn’t feel as incompetent as she was but apart from some friendly colleagues at work she didn’t really have anyone whom she would actually use the word “friend” for, let alone talk to about her problems. 

Regina Mills though would be the perfect person to talk to. 

Emma stopped abruptly almost causing herself to trip over a piece of driftwood.   
Did she really just think that? That she’d like to talk to Regina Mills about how stupidly alone she felt? Did she really want Regina Mills to be her friend?  
Shaking her head fiercely she tried to get rid of these irrational thoughts. Only yesterday had she felt intensely intimidated by the other woman and the day before that she broke out into a panic attack over what the brunette had said. That definitely wasn’t someone Emma wanted to establish a friendship with, was it?

Without really noticing her feet began moving again and brought her back from the beach into town and when she looked up she found herself opposite the hospital.   
“You’re insane.” She scolded herself when she realized where she was headed and turned around to walk down the street in the opposite direction.   
She stopped at a small bakery and bought herself a coffee and a bagel and sat down at one of the small tables to read the newspaper.


	4. Chapter 4

**_ Chapter 4 _ **

_“No. Wait I'm sorry. I... Emma, I'm...I'm sorry. Snapping at you-I shouldn't have done that.”_

_…_

_“We have to save OUR son!”_

_…_

_“You may not be strong enough, but maybe we are..”_

_…_

_“vMy gift to you is good memories, good life for you and Henry. You will have the life you always wanted.”_

Gasping for air Emma awoke and sat up straight. It took her a few long moments to realize where she was and when she finally did a sigh of relief escaped her.

She had dreamt of Regina Mills but it felt so much more real than dreams normally did. These scenes, these pictures, they almost felt like memories.

Regina’s words echoed through her head again. _“This isn’t really your life”_ , she had said.

Emma ran her hands through her tangled locks and breathed deeply to stop them from shaking. Rubbing at her temples she raised her head and looked at her alarm clock. It was only 6:30 but she decided there was no point in trying to get more sleep, she would only lie awake and worry so she could as well get up right now.

The confusing scenes of her dreams still in mind she went showering in attempt to drown them in hot water and then slumped downstairs for some breakfast.

Sipping her second cup of coffee her gaze fell down on her keys that lay next to her now empty plate on the table. The dreamcatcher pendant sparkled in the early morning sun that came through the big windows into the breakfast room.

Henry had talked about it when he began having dreams about Regina and now Emma herself dreamt about the brunette. She slowly began thinking that it somehow held more meaning than she knew of. She tried to remember where she got it from but couldn’t. It had just always been on her key ring.

Finishing her coffee Emma decided that it was time to talk to Regina Mills.

She felt like the longer she avoided it the more she thought, and worried, about the woman. So today instead she would just go straight ahead and confront her.

But looking at the clock that hang over the door she realized that her visit at the hospital had to wait at least a couple of hours. It was still only 7:50 and she definitely couldn’t show up at the hospital yet.

 

Emma’s hands shook slightly when she eventually knocked at door number 307 later that day. Since finishing breakfast Emma had been wandering around her room and then the beach, trying to busy herself until it was legit to go to the hospital.

Now finally she pushed open the door and entered Regina’s room.

“Emma.” Regina sounded surprised upon noticing her and probably rightly so. Emma hadn’t really been that communicative since their conversation two days ago.

“Hey.” She now responded. Taking off her jacket and hanging it over one of the chair’s back, she walked over to stand next to the bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thank you. The headaches are almost completely gone and the doctors think the changes in my blood tests come from simple lack of nutrition so they just put me on some supplements.”

“That’s great. So will you be discharged soon?”

“I hope so.”

Emma nodded. Uncomfortable silence began filling the room when Emma’s courage to just outright talk about what was bothering her with the brunette’s entrance in her life faded. She looked around the room a little helplessly unsure what she was trying to accomplish by it.

Regina seemed to notice because after a while she carefully asked:

“Emma, why are you here?”

The blonde returned her gaze to Regina and sighed, her shoulders slumping. She would not back away from the talk that was definitely due, though. So Emma turned around to pull one of the chairs next to the bed and sat down.

Regina as well, pushed herself up to comfortably sit against the head of the bed and focused her attention on the blonde.

 

“We need to talk. About… what you said... and about Henry. And probably me too.”

Emma sighed, that wasn’t really how she wanted to start this but somehow her ability to speak in complete, reasonable sentences disappeared when confronted with the chaos that Regina Mills brought into her life.

But Regina understood, because her expression became serious and she only nodded.

“Henry dreams about you.” Emma said because she didn’t really want to start with her own complicated feelings towards the brunette.

“He told me.”

“Yeah.” Emma hesitated before finally adding “I dreamt about you, too.”

Surprise showed on Regina’s face, followed by something that very much looked like relief and Emma found herself confirmed in her belief that maybe there was a grain of truth to the brunette’s story.

Emma took a deep breath.

 

“So this is becoming ridiculous. You know, after you told me that story about how we two know each other and I lost my memory and whatnot, I thought you were insane or at least I wanted to, because it scared me. It absolutely horrified me. You knew all those things about Henry and me and… and then somehow…” She paused, trying to couch her feelings, “There was a small part of me that just accepted everything you said and that was what scared me the most. The idea that it might be true and my whole life would have been a lie.”

Emma took a shuttering breath and felt tears welling up, along with a lump in her throat. She swallowed heavily to keep both down.

“And then there’s Henry who keeps repeating that you seem familiar. He dreams about you and he’s so attached to you after he just met you and that scares me, too.

And now I’ve dreamt about you. We were always talking: In front of some kind of diner, in the woods, in a mine?. We… we talked about OUR son. How… Is Henry our son? Is that why he’s so attached to you? But how would that even be possible? I mean, it isn’t. It can’t be, but…”

Emma broke off, realizing she was just rambling by now. But she still needed answers or she was sure she would go crazy.

Slowly raising her gaze from her lap to look at Regina, she found an understanding smile on the brunette’s face, along with the relief she had already seen there earlier.

 

“Emma, you’re not crazy.”

Regina seemed to have read Emma’s thoughts and the blonde winced slightly and averted her gaze. Regina didn’t fail to notice that and took a moment to look at the other woman. As much as she knew Emma wanted answer’s, she decided that telling the whole truth wouldn’t get her anywhere. It was way too complicated and she was sure she’d just send Emma running away again, like she did the first time she tried explaining things.

Emma was starting to remember, even if just in dreams, and that would have to be enough for now.

“You’re not crazy.”, she repeated,  reaching out to take one of Emma’s hands in her own.

 

At the touch Emma looked up again and saw the assuring expression on the brunette’s face.

“I do mean what I told you 4 days ago. Those dreams, make of them what you want. Just know that you’re not going crazy. I won’t tell you more, because I don’t want you to worry more than you already do. I’m sorry I even told you that much the first time.

Can we just leave this whole thing behind and pretend we’re just two people that met under very strange circumstances?”

Emma looked into those brown eyes that were so warm and honest that eventually she nodded. She took a deep breath and shook her head to clear it before focusing on Regina again.

“I think I can do that.”

Regina offered her a bright smile.

“Thank you. And I promise I’m not a criminal that’s after you or Henry.”

Emma almost laughed a little at that, feeling her tension slowly slipping.

“I didn’t think so anyway. You know, I’m a police detective, I’ve met my share of criminals and you definitely don’t fit the criteria.”

“Glad to hear that.”, Regina remarked and Emma would swear that there was a hint of sarcasm in that statement, but she wasn’t sure, so she let it slip.

 

“So, you’re the mayor of a smalltown?”, Emma prompted, trying to start a regular conversation.

“I am.”, Regina nodded, a smile reappearing on her face, “And you’re a police detective.”

“I am.”, Emma replied, grinning.

“What department?”

“I started in missing persons, but I’m working robbery now.”

“Wow. That sounds intense.”

“It is.” Emma confirmed, “But I always thought it’s also very rewarding. Finding the persons responsible and putting them away makes me feel like I do something that actually matters in this world.”

Regina’s mouth stood open for only the slightest of moments, when Emma realized what she had just said.

“God, no, that sounded- that sounded way cheesier than intended.”

“No, it’s okay”, Regina assured, “I get what you mean. What else do you do? Apart from working?”

“I read.”

“You do?” The surprise on Regina’s face was so sincere Emma had to fight back a laugh, which in the end found its way out anyway.

“You look like I just told you I murder puppies for joy.”, Emma replied, covering her mouth to stop another laugh.

Regina fought to convert her expression into a smile as well, but Emma could still see the surprise evident on the brunette’s features and wondered why this revelation was so shocking to her.

“I just wouldn’t have picked you for the reading type.”, Regina eventually said.

“Well, I am.”

“Yes.”

“So, any favorite authors or genres?”, Emma asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

“I like horror. Stephen King and alike.”

“Seriously?”

Now it was Emma’s turn to be surprised. That was definitely not what she would have expected. She somehow figured working in an office all day, organizing a town and driving an oldtimer Mercedes, the other woman would be into classics and Jane Austen.

 

“I find the stories reassuring.”, Regina explained, “It’s like, if I read about those horrors than I realize how comfortingly insignificant my problems are.”

Emma thought about that for a moment.

“I’ve never seen in that way, but I think I get your point.”

“And you, what do you read?”, Regina asked in return.

“Well, anything essentially, though I do have a weakness for cheesy romance novels.”

“Do you?”, the smirk on the brunette’s face made Emma laugh out.

“Yeah. Something about them makes me feel better, because those stories are so horribly cheesy and cliché that I don’t feel that bad anymore for still being single and not having to experience anything similar.”

“Well that’s… sad, actually.”, Regina’s expression changed and turned more serious again, the brunette eyeing her thoroughly.

The look on the other woman’s face, that Emma couldn’t really put a finger on, made her squirm slightly. She felt like the brunette saw much more than Emma was comfortable with.

“It’s not that bad.”, Emma tried to detract from her earlier words.

 

There was silence between them for a few moments, Regina having eventually averted her eyes from Emma and instead looking out of the window on her other side.

“So, does Henry have a father?”

The question didn’t take Emma by surprise, yet she couldn’t help a sigh escaping her mouth, that had Regina looking at her again immediately.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.”, the brunette quickly apologized, but Emma shook her head.

“No, it’s okay. Sure he has a father, just not one who stuck around.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“And you never found someone else?”, Emma swore that sounded a little hopeful but shrugged the thought off quickly.

“No. Not for lack of trying, though.”

A laugh escaped her that sounded so bitter it surprised herself. She tried to quickly avert the attention from her lack of a love life.

“What about you? You said you’re not married, but is there someone?”

Regina averted her eyes and fixed them on her lap, playing around with the hem of her blanket. Emma sensed she had hit a sensible spot and shook her head in annoyance with herself.

“I’m sorry I, that was insensitive. I don’t even know you that well. I-“

She felt herself starting to ramble, realizing how, for the past couple of minutes she had slipped into such easy conversation with the brunette that she actually forgot they were practically strangers.

 

“No. Don’t- don’t leave.”, Regina interjected her thoughts when Emma had already gotten up from her chair, ready to excuse herself.

Now she sat back down, eyeing the woman in the hospital bed closely.

“You sure? I could just-“

“No. Please, stay.”, Regina interrupted her again, “I didn’t mean to chase you away by getting all sentimental.”

She forced a smile on her lips, that Emma immediately realized as such, but nodded anyway, settling back into her chair again.

“To answer your question. There- There was someone, but things happened and life got crazy and it never really came as far as being a real chance.”

“I’m sorry.”, Emma answered, truly meaning her words, “Do you know if he felt the same?”

A grin flew over Regina’s features for the briefest of seconds before she shook her head.

“No, I never knew. I could only assume and hope for the best.”

Emma nodded silently, thinking about what could probably have been happening in the brunette’s life to lead her to where she was now.

Thinking about that, Emma remembered one of the first things Regina had told them.

“You said you were on your way to find someone, when you had the accident.”, she started, “was that…”

“Yes.”, Regina answered before Emma finished and offered her a sad smile, “Yes.”

Emma nodded again, silence settling between the two women. Emma found it to be a good sort of silence though, they simply sat next to each other, the only sounds coming from the buzzing of the neon lights above them and the faint echo of the station’s life behind the closed door.

 

“Is Henry enjoying the hunting trip?”, Regina eventually asked, her gaze landing on Emma again.

Emma broke out a smile at that.

“Oh yes, he certainly is. He gets to camp in the woods and learn stuff about animals and campfires, he was so excited when he called yesterday evening.”

“I can imagine.” The brunette smiled in return, “He’s a great boy.”

“He is.”, Emma agreed, not missing the softness in Regina’s voice at the topic and despite their agreement to forget about the whole “We’ve met before”-thing, Emma couldn’t help but wonder why both Regina and Henry seemed to be so incredibly fond of each other.

She shook the thoughts off, when a nurse entered with a tray of food.

 

“Lunch.”, she announced with a smile, putting the tray down on Regina’s bedside table.

“Thank you.” Regina said, but a look of disdain appearing on her face as soon as the nurse left the room.

“What?”, Emma asked at the hilarious face the brunette made.  
“This hospital’s food is the worst thing ever.”

She reached over to pull the extendible table over her lap and picked up a fork, picking through what was probably supposed to be mashed potatoes, peas and some sort of meat, but admittedly looked far from palatable.

 

“Are you on some sort of diet, except for the supplements they give you?”, Emma asked, looking up from the food to meet Regina’s eyes.

“No. Why?”

“Do you like pizza?”

A grin spread on Regina’s face, matching the one on Emma’s .

“Actually, I do.”, Regina replied, pushing the table back to her side.

“Then give me half an hour.”, Emma laughed and got up, already putting on her jacket and heading for the door.

“Bye Emma.”

“See you later.”, Emma returned before leaving the room and the hospital to get them both some pizza from the best Italian place in town.

 

When Emma went to bed that evening, she still couldn’t shake the smile from her face. After she had returned to the hospital with lunch, and a Stephen King paperback she got from the hospital kiosk, they had sat together and talked for the most part of the afternoon. Of course Regina had already known the book, but she was thankful nonetheless to have something to entertain herself with.

Their conversation had flowed easy and effortlessly throughout the whole afternoon. Emma had found herself as relaxed in Regina’s company as she hadn’t been in a very long time.

Now, still smiling, she shuffled under her comforter and closed her eyes, shooting one last glance over to the dreamcatcher on her keyring placed on the nightstand. Tonight, she figured, she wouldn’t have to worry about any bad dreams.


	5. Chapter 5

**_ Chapter 5 _ **

“Lunch!”, Emma announced, pushing open the hospital room door with her hip, while holding two takeout bags in her hands.

“Oh thank god! I can’t even guess what the hospital’s menu is supposed to be today.”

Emma glanced over to the food tray on Regina’s bedside table, where some reddish-brown goo sat on the plate.

“Ew. Completely understand. I got you the salad you asked for.”

She took out a plastic container with a chicken salad and set it down on the table, before pulling out the sandwich she had gotten for herself.

Regina had been allowed out of bed as of the morning and now walked over to sit down opposite of Emma at the table.

“I feel so ridiculous in these horrible pajamas.”, she complained, before plopping down on the chair.

Emma chuckled.

“I think they’re cute.”, she mocked, eying the cartoon ducks printed on the brunette’s current clothes, “at least they got you something other than hospital gowns without a backside.”

“Oh don’t even start.”, Regina cut in and gave Emma a stern stare, before taking off the lid of the container and starting on her food.

 

“Well, you did never tell me why you didn’t call anyone from home.”, Emma prompted, taking a bite of her sandwich, eying the other woman closely.

They had talked a lot this morning and the day before, but somehow she felt she had been the doing most of the talking. And quite frankly, Emma had wondered from the beginning why the brunette didn’t have any other visitors than her and Henry, two complete strangers.

“It’s not that easy.”, Regina eventually answered, trying to avoid the topic.

“Why not?”

“Gosh, insensible much, Emma?”

“Sorry,”, Emma quickly mumbled, “but I really don’t understand. You’ve been here for 6 days now and no one has come for you, except Henry and me.”

“Because I didn’t want to tell anyone.”

“That you had a car accident in which you had absolutely no fault?”

“I didn’t want to worry anyone.”

“Won’t they worry if you don’t call?”

When Regina looked up from her salad Emma was shocked to see the brunette’s expression. She looked so unbelievably sad and pained that she immediately closed her mouth, swallowing the rest of her words.

“You know how we decided to forget the fact that I already knew you and Henry?”

Emma swallowed heavily. She had indeed done a pretty good job of pushing that matter to the back of her mind.

“Yes.”

“If you want to keep it that way, then please stop with all the questions, Emma.”

The seriousness in the other woman’s voice had Emma silenced for a long moment, before she nodded.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Hmm.”

She nodded again, trying to smile reassuringly.

“I still don’t understand, but for now, I’m fine keeping it that way.”

Emma would swear there was a hint of disappointment on Regina’s features, but it was gone before she could be sure.

 

Eventually pushing away the empty takeout containters, both women leaned back in their chairs.

“So, how’s it going with you getting out of here?”, Emma asked, collecting the empty boxes and throwing them in the trash.

“They said my bloodwork’s looking good. If I’m lucky, I’ll get discharged tomorrow.”

“That’s good.”

Emma hesitated for a moment, before asking: “What are you gonna do then?”

“I don’t know yet.”, Regina admitted, “Depends on how my car survived the whole accident. I don’t think I even know where they brought it.”

“Well, there’s only one workshop in town, so it’s probably there.”

“Oh, okay. Well…”

“Do you want me to check out what’s going on with your car?”, Emma suggested, having had her fair share of experience with the local workshop. Her yellow Volkswagen bug might be trustworthy generally, but definitely not immune to the aches and pains of an oldtimer.

“If you would do that?”, Regina answered and paused for a moment, “and if you could also get me a change of clothes?”

“Sure”, Emma nodded, glancing at her wrist watch.

“Do you need to go now?”

There was disappointment in the brunette’s voice, that Emma didn’t miss. She looked up and smiled at Regina.

“No, there’s plenty of time left before the shops close. I’ve got a few more hours.”

“Great. I mean…”, Regina seemed to struggle for words to level her relief and Emma had to admit it was kind of cute to watch.

 

She had noticed that the longer they talked the more relaxed Regina got. In the beginning she had been very reserved- friendly, but reserved. But the longer they talked the more she had led that demeanor slip and Emma found herself to like this version of the brunette much better.

Deciding to put the other woman out of her ongoing struggle to downplay her excitement at another few hours of visitation, Emma changed the topic.

“So Henry’s having lots of fun on his trip. This morning he told me they caught a rabbit and Matthew showed him how to cook it over a campfire. Paired with all the camping and lessons in edible plants he got he’s now convinced he could survive if he ever had to flee civilization and live in the woods.”

The story had the desired effect and made Regina laugh, which Emma thought was one of the most stunning things she ever witnessed. There was just something about the glow that evaporated from the other woman when she laughed that had Emma completely hooked.

“I can totally imagine that. But let’s hope he won’t have to live in the woods any time soon.”, Regina replied, still smiling.

“Yeah, let’s not.”, Emma agreed, “though I’m pretty sure he’s gonna bug me with the request of going camping for the next few school breaks.”

“Possibly.”

Emma looked at the brunette for a moment, acknowledging that she obviously knew a lot more about her son, than Emma was comfortable with, but repressing those thoughts immediately.

“So I take it you come here often?”, Regina asked, gesturing toward the town on the other side of the window.

“We do. We come here every fall. It’s just always been that way. I don’t even remember when we started to.”

Regina nodded but Emma noticed the brunette’s attention was shifting.

 “What is it?”, she asked.

“Nothing. Nothing.”

“Let me guess, you just wouldn’t have picked me for the ‘coastal Maine’ type of person.”, Emma prompted, referring to the brunette’s surprise at her like for reading.

A smile appeared on Regina’s face at Emma’s words.

“Exactly.”, she replied.

“Okay, so where do you spend your vacation?”, Emma asked, making herself comfortable, pulling her feet up on the chair and resting her chin on her knees.

“I don’t.”, Regina simply answered.

“You don’t go on vacation?”

“No. I have a town to run and even if I take a few days off, I don’t leave.”

“That sounds… pretty boring.”

Regina snorted.

“Yeah, well, maybe. But the consistency of a rather boring life in my little town also has something comforting.”

Emma thought about that. She could see it. She liked New York, she liked the constant buzz of people, the vibrant city life, all the possibilities. But living in a small town, like Rockport, surely also had its perks. There was a reason why Emma enjoyed those two weeks of vacation so much every year.

 

Nodding, she looked up at Regina again.

“Okay, tell me some more about you.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Well, something? We talked so much those past days, but somehow I feel like I still barely know you, while you know everything about me. From my favorite books and movie genres to my work to the lack of personal life. But what about you? All I know is, you’re the mayor of your town, you like Stephen King, the comfort of consistency and you came here to find someone.”

“Well, my favorite movie genre are romantic comedies.”

Emma’s mouth stood agape.

“Seriously? You read Stephen King, but you like rom-coms?”

Regina chuckled, which was so unlike how Emma had gotten to know her, it only added to Emma’s surprise.

“Yes.”, the brunette nodded.

“Okay.”, Emma drew out the word, letting the information settle before thinking about her next question.

“What kind of music do you listen to?”

“I don’t like music too much. I find it mostly too loud and distracting. If anything, then classic music.”

Emma nodded.

She knew a few people who didn’t like music. One of her colleagues at the station would go crazy if the radio was turned on in the car. He also said it was distracting.

_Go into more detail here?_

 

They kept going like this, eventually the questions got sillier and sillier and in the end both women were laughing more than anything else.

Before it got too late, though, Emma had to say goodbye to check with Jesse’s workshop about Regina’s car and to get the change of clothes the brunette had asked her for.

It turned out, the black Mercedes was a trusty old thing and the damage was mostly just metal. Jesse said he’d check the motor again, but from what he saw there would be no further problem, apart from the fact that the car now looked a lot less classy and dropped a few thousand dollars in value.

Emma’s next stop was a local boutique where she found herself with the task of picking out clothes that would fit Regina.

Sure she got her size, but what would the brunette wear?

Emma tried to think back to what she wore when they found her at the sight of the accident a week ago and then about how she had got to known the other woman.

Eventually she settled for simple black pants, a cream-colored blouse and a dark cardigan, before heading over to a Walmart to get some basic toiletries.

Done with the shopping she walked back to the bed and breakfast and dropped down on her bed, gazing up to at ceiling.

This vacation had so not played out how she expected, but she found that she didn’t mind too much. Henry had fun on his camping trip and Emma had good company her own, enjoying the time with Regina.  Yes, this was definitely not too bad after all.

 

The next day after Emma had just finished breakfast, the doors to the small breakfast room flew open and Henry came running at her.

“Mom!”, he called, hugging her tightly.

“Hey Henry.”, Emma laughed, returning his embrace.

“Oh mom, it was SO great! It was like one of those survival trips I’ve seen documentaries about. We HAVE to go camping one day, yeah?”

“Sure, Henry, Sure.”, Emma replied, laughing. That was exactly what she had expected from her easily excited son.

When she looked up, she saw Matthew standing in the doorway, looking over at them.

“Thank you for taking him with you.”, Emma said, putting a hand on Henry’s shoulder, “I hope he behaved.”

“Oh he did, don’t worry.”, Matthew smiled in response, “He’s a clever kid, always had an idea on how to go about things without having everything available.”

“Good to hear.”

Henry tugged at Emma’s arm.

“Have you been visiting Regina? How is she?”

“I have and she’s fine. Maybe she gets discharged today, I told her we’d come by later.”

“Oh great! When’s ‘later’ gonna be?”

“Well,”, Emma sighed, sniffing his unkempt hair, “at least not before you had a shower and put on some fresh clothes.”

He nodded and already headed for their room, calling “Thanks again” towards Matthew before rushing up the stairs.

 

An hour and a half later they knocked at room 307 and entered to find Regina, still in the hospital’s pajamas, bowed over her purse.

“Hey!”

Henry almost threw herself at Regina, ready to hug her, before changing his mind and deciding on simply beaming a bright smile at her.

“Hello Henry. It’s nice to see you again.”, the brunette greeted, her smile almost as wide as Henry’s.

Emma could see how just one smile from Henry had the Regina’s  features softening and her expression grow fond. Once again she wondered why, but shook her head vigorously to get rid of the question.

“Hey.”, she instead said herself, stepping further into the room, “I got you something.”

She held out the plastic bag she had been carrying, which Regina took gladly. One glance into it had her sighing and smiling up at Emma.

“Thank you so much. I’m gonna go change to feel like a real person again.”

“So you’re getting discharged?”

“Yes. I’m only waiting for a nurse to come back with the last papers.”

“That’s great.”

Regina disappeared into the bathroom and Emma sat down on one of the chairs, eying Henry, who had stepped to the window, looking out over the town.

“So maybe we can show Regina the town today? You know the marketplace, the city hall and the beach?”

“Maybe, if she’s up for it.”, Emma replied, turning towards the door when a nurse entered.

“Oh, hello”, she greeted when she noticed the visitors, “I just got the papers for Ms Mills.”

“Thank you. She’s just changing, but you can just leave them here.”, Emma replied, taking the papers from the nurse, who smiled friendly and left the room again.

Regina came out of the bathroom just a moment later, dressed in her new clothes, her hair done and with a whole new kind of glow to her.

“God, I almost forgot how good it feels to wear actual clothes.”, she laughed, her gaze falling onto the papers in Emma’s hands.

“Are these the papers?”

“Yes.”, Emma answered, handing them over, “you’re free to go.”

“Good.”, Regina smiled.

She picked up her purse and they all headed for the door.

“So, do you want us to show you the town today?”, Henry asked excitedly, bouncing up and down next to the brunette while they walked down the hallway.

“Well, I’d love to, but first I think, I have to find a place to stay, at least for a night, and then check on my car.”

“Your car’s good.”, Emma jumped in, “I talked to Jesse at the workshop yesterday. It’s just metal damage, but it’s good to drive. You can take it back today.”

“Good, so that’s one thing.”

“And I’m sure Mrs Fowler has another free room.”, Henry prompted, smiling broadly.

“Mrs Fowler?”, Regina asked in confusion as they entered the elevator.

“The lady who owns the B&B we’re staying at.”, Emma explained, “I think Henry could be right about that. We can at least ask her. Otherwise there are a couple of decent hotels around, I think. We’ve never stayed at one though.”

“But please stay at Mrs Fowler’s with us!”, Henry begged, pouting and Emma was just about to hush him for that, when Regina smiled at him in response.

“If there’s a free room, then I will”, she promised.

 

They made their way to the B&B chatting, even though it was mostly Henry who told the two women about his trip. Mrs Fowler, indeed, had another free room and Regina got settled there before all three of them headed out again to get Regina’s car from the workshop and then go on the city tour Henry had wanted to take Regina on.

Proudly, he guided the two women through the small town’s roads, which after all those years he knew by heart. He even remembered about the history of the city hall building, which Emma had to admit was kind of impressing, since the last time they had visited the adjourning museum was at least two years ago.

They stopped for a late lunch and some coffee at a small bakery where they served, Henry swore, the best hot chocolate in the United States, before making their way back to the B&B, deciding to meet up again later to go to the beach. 


	6. Chapter 6

**_ Chapter 6 _ **

“Do you think it’s windy enough to take out the kite?”, Henry asked, his nose burrowed in one of the many plastic bags with diverse toys they had brought with them from New York.

“You can try.”, Emma answered from the bathroom, where she was splashing some water on her face, before re-tying her ponytail.

Looking up at her reflection in the mirror she found herself smiling. This was actually really, really nice.

Although Regina was practically still a stranger whom she had only met a week ago, spending time with her was so easy and felt so good and the fact that Henry seemed to think so, too, made the whole experience all the more rewarding.

She rubbed at a bit of astray mascara, before leaving the bathroom to find Henry prepped and ready to go, his kite already in hand.

“Great, kid, let’s go then.”, she smiled, opening the door for him and following him down and outside.

 

The beach began almost directly behind the B&B and as soon as their feet hit the sand Henry ran ahead, trying to get his kite in the air. The women watched as it took him a couple of tries, but eventually he succeeded and the kite rose higher and higher into the sky.

“Look!”, he called to the two women and Emma gave him a thumbs up, a fond smile prominent on her face.

“You’re a good mother.”, Regina suddenly said, which had Emma turning to her in surprise.

“Uhm, thanks? I don’t really know what to say.”, Emma answered sheepishly.

“You don’t have to say anything.”, Regina assured, smiling, “I just wanted you to know.”

“Do you have kids, Regina?” Emma asked, locking eyes with the brunette and bringing them both to a halt, “I mean, you told me you weren’t married, but you said you had family in town and you’re so great with Henry, I just…”

Regina’s smile turned sad and Emma immediately regretted her question.

“Remember the ‘forgetting’-thing?”, Regina asked discouraged.

Emma sighed.

“You know, I think that kind of sucks.”, she grunted, focusing her gaze on a small stone in the sand at her feet and trying to kick it away.

“It’s for your own best.”, Regina replied, her voice so soft and caring that Emma looked up to meet her eyes again, though she didn’t have an answer.

She got it. After all, she was the one freaking out in the first place, when Regina tried to tell the whole story, and hell, she absolutely didn’t want to experience another panic attack. Still the holes in Regina’s story had her curious and she yearned to get answers- preferably though without having her own life disceived.

So once again, Emma settled for silence and a simple nod, focusing her eyes instead on her son.

They started walking again and after a couple of moments silence eventually their conversation headed back to safer topics.

They were out until after sunset and it got progressively colder on their way back to the B&B.

 

The three came to a halt in the middle of the first floor hallway, when their ways had to part for their respective rooms.

Emma was just about to say goodnight, when Henry asked “Do you want to come with us and play some cards?”

Emma let out a breath, somehow glad Henry asked, because she wasn’t quite ready yet to let the brunette go for the night either. The day had been so nice and so much fun that she found herself reluctant to have it end yet.

She looked at Regina expectantly and got a whole-hearted smile in return.

“I would love to.”

Nodding happily, Henry bounced down the hallway to their room three doors down. Though the room wasn’t the biggest, they all fit in well and after discarding himself of his shoes and jacket, Henry put away the kite to pull out a set of cards instead.

In lack of a third chair, they pulled the small table up to the end of Henry’s bed, so all three could sit comfortably around the table to play.

 

“Are you going to drive back home to Storybrooke tomorrow?”, Henry asked a few rounds into the game, looking up at Regina questioningly.

Emma watched the brunette closely while she contemplated her answer. There were a lot of emotions displayed on the other woman’s face and Emma found that it was probably the most open she had ever seen Regina so far. Emma could decipher uncertainty, but also melancholy and had absolutely no idea of what to make of it.

“I don’t know.”, Regina eventually answered, accompanied by a deep sigh, “I really don’t know, Henry.”

“Why?”, he asked innocently, though the question, to Regina and also to Emma held a lot more meaning.

Regina looked up to lock eyes with Emma and Emma knew exactly what the other woman was thinking. There was no real reason for her to stay any longer, she was searching for someone after all. But there were also all those unspoken parts of their story with each other, however insane they might sound, and Emma knew that Regina wanted to tell her. She was just not sure if she wanted to hear them.

Feeling more and more uncomfortable under Regina’s intent gaze, she eventually averted her eyes.

“Well, weren’t you looking for someone when you had the accident? You haven’t found that person yet, so I guess that’s what you want to get back to, isn’t it?”

It came out much harsher than Emma had intended and she could see Regina’s face drop at the words. But as much as Emma might want it to, this trip and therefore her relationship with Regina couldn’t go on like this forever, could it?

“Yeah, you’re right.”, Regina said quietly and Emma knew instantly that it wasn’t the whole truth. But then again, what was with the brunette, really? And did she even want to know?

Emma sighed, putting down her next card.

“I win.”, she announced, Henry’s eyes immediately darting over to her cards and his brows furrowing.

“That’s not fair.”, he pouted.

“Just because you didn’t win, doesn’t mean the game wasn’t fair.”, Emma remembered him, giving him a weak smile.

“Let’s call it a night. I’m sure Regina wants to get going early tomorrow, so we shouldn’t be up too late.”

Regina and Henry both looked at her. Henry still pouting because he wanted to stay up longer and continue playing, Regina with a look much more difficult to read. If Emma knew the brunette a little better she would almost say it was disappointment and maybe even a little anger that lined the brunette’s features.

 

“But I don’t want to go to bed, yet.”, Henry’s voice interrupted the stare down that Emma and Regina had unconsciously started and both their gazes dropped to Henry.

“I’m gonna have those strange dreams again.”, he said in all earnest, “and while they’re not really scary they’re not really cool either.”

“What dreams?”, Regina immediately asked while Emma felt a bad feeling rising in her stomach.

“About that town and about you.”, Henry answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world, “they’re mostly just weird. Like, people are named after fairytale characters and so Snow White and Prince Charming are always around. And there are strange things happening like there’s a giant walking around town and people are talking about magic beans and different lands and it’s really weird.”

Regina’s face went pale and her mouth stood open for just the slightest of moments before she found her composure again.

Emma on the other hand, was still shocked. What Henry had just described sounded a lot like the dreams she herself had a couple of nights ago. Hers weren’t as detailed, but when she now tried to think about them again, the basic situation was the same. How was that possible? Her eyes darted to Regina, who didn’t return her gaze, but seemed to be deep in thoughts. The bad feeling in Emma’s stomach started spreading and changing and she found herself getting anxious, an uncomfortable tingling sensation spreading from her stomach up to her chest. She tried to shake it off, but it wouldn’t go away. Taking deep breaths, she tried to get it under control that way, when Regina suddenly started talking, apparently having come to a decision.

  
“Henry,”, she began, “what would you think if I told you that your dreams aren’t really dreams.”

“But what else would they be?”, Henry put down his cards on the table completely forgotten.

“Memories.”, Regina explained, “They’re memories that you had to forget in order to get away safely.”

“Get away? From where?”, Henry didn’t seem unnerved at all, just curious, much in comparison to Emma, who felt the panic rising in her chest, daring to overtake her.

“From Storybrooke.”, Regina replied eying Henry’s every reaction carefully.

“But that’s where you’re from, right?”

Regina nodded.

“I’ve never been there before.”

“You have, Henry. You grew up there, but then something very dangerous happened and Emma and you had to leave town to be safe. The people that are with you in those dreams, those memories, they’re your friends and family.”

Regina turned to Emma, her face a mixture between fondness, sadness and guilt.

“They’re your family, too, Emma. Your parents.”

 

Emma stared at Regina for a long moment, unable to speak, while trying to get her panic under control. She wasn’t used to this anxiety anymore. The times she had panic attacks regularly were long gone, but apparently one Regina Mills was able to bring them back easily.

“I don’t have parents anymore.”, Emma finally got out between clenched teeth, “And I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Regina sighed, getting up and stepping closer to Emma, who almost tripped over her chair, getting up herself and backing away. The last thing she could handle right now was being close to the woman who was currently sending her towards a panic attack with what she was saying.

Hurt flickered over the brunette’s face as Emma backed away, but she didn’t step closer again.

“Emma, you have to believe me. I know this sounds insane, but it’s the truth and eventually you’ll have to remember!”

Emma shook her head vigorously, closing her eyes.

“You’re insane.”

“I am not. And neither are you, but you have to remember.”

Regina stepped closer again and when Emma backed away this time her back hit the wall.

Opening her eyes to look for another way out, Emma couldn’t help her gaze falling on Regina.

The brunette’s expression had changed from concern to impatience and Emma felt her heart take up another beat and actually physically jumped when Regina let out an exasperated sigh.

“For god’s sake!”, Regina suddenly cried out, surprising both Henry and Emma with the outburst.

She took two steps away from Emma, running her hands through her hair, before moving closer once again, mumbling something that sounded much like “whatever” before speaking up again, addressing Emma.

 

“You know how I told you I was looking for someone? You know how, when you asked if I had someone, I told you there was someone but it didn’t work out because things got in between? It was YOU, Emma! I’ve been looking for you! I’ve been in love with you!”

Her voice got progressively louder as all the pound up emotions made their way to the top.

“You’re freaking Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter and I fell for you and then Peter Pan threatened to curse all of us and I had to send you and Henry away to save you and cast the curse instead. And while I gave YOU happy memories and a good life where you didn’t remember the madness that is Storybrooke, **I** did remember very well while we fought my wicked half-sister and once again struggled against some evil master plan. I remembered what I lost: My son and the first person that managed to somehow find a way into my heart. And it’s ridiculous really, that that person is you, of all people, but it is and…”

Suddenly all energy seemed to leave Regina and her hands sank to her sides, her face falling into a sad frown, “and it all doesn’t matter, because you still don’t remember and now you’re going to run.”, she sighed, swiftly gazing up at Emma.

 

Emma had only stood there, back against the wall, staring open mouthed during the brunette’s outburst. In fact, she was so stunned, that for a moment even the panic pressing down on her lungs had disappeared but as she now blinked at the other woman it came crushing down on her once again and she gasped for air, her hand reaching up to her throat as if it would help her to breathe easier.

 

“Mom!”, Henry, who up until now had been quietly observing, cried out, rushing over to his blond mother and helplessly reaching for her hands.

“What’s happening to her?!”, he asked, fear prominent on his features, “Help her.”

Watching the blonde panicking, gasping for air, Regina was simply frozen. She had expected a lot of things to happen after her revelation but certainly not this. She had no idea how to react and simply stared at Emma for a moment, until Henry’s voice made it’s way to her ears.

“Help her!”, he cried again, tears forming in his eyes and that was what Regina needed to jump back into action.

She moved closer to Emma again, who now had nowhere else to go and it didn’t seem like she was able to either, clutching at her chest, gasping for air, an expression of pure and utter horror on her face. Regina felt her own heartbeat quicken and her palms sweating. She still had no idea on how to really help the blonde.  
“Emma, Emma, I’m sorry.”, Regina said, standing opposite the Emma now, looking in her eyes.

“I’m so very sorry. I… I don’t know what to do… I…” She took a shuddering breath to calm herself. Then she stilled, a thought crossing her mind. She sure wasn’t one to follow Snow White’s, of all people’s, advice, but damn it if exactly that advice wasn’t what had saved them several times before. Also she was at a loss of other ideas and the sight of the panicking blonde scared her.

So blowing all cautions in the wind, Regina took one more step forward, doing the one thing that always worked in the fairytales. Positioning her hands on both sides of Emma’s face, she leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to the blonde’s lips.

 

For a moment time stood still.

It didn’t last longer than a few seconds, but it happened nonetheless. Regina could feel the familiar pulse of magic evaporating from where their lips met and, pulling back, a relieved sigh escaped her. It actually worked!

Looking up at Emma again, though, she wasn’t sure if that was really a good thing.


	7. Chapter 7

**_ Chapter 7 _ **

Emma could only stare at Regina. For a moment everything stopped, before it came crushing down on her once again. Every single memory came back to her. From her childhood bounced between foster homes to giving up Henry after birth, to her crappy life as a bounty hunter, to her 28th birthday and her first encounter with Storybrooke, to the moment the curse broke. Her trip to the Enchanted Forest and back and then Neverland and back again.

With those memories also came the realization that everything she had believed to be true until just a second ago was a lie. All the memories she had from Henry’s childhood, they were all a lie. They weren’t hers at all.

All those thoughts raged in Emma’s mind and physically the only thing she was able to do was stare at the brunette in front of her: unable to move, unable to speak. But at least the shock had magically managed to stop her panic and so the pressing force on her chest slowly dissipated.

The uneasy feeling that had settled deep in her stomach though stayed and it weight heavy.

 

“Emma?”, Regina’s voice eventually rang though to her and Emma tried to focus her mind on the current situation.

“I need some air.”, she eventually stated, storming out of the room, not even bothering to grab a jacket.

Regina looked after her for a moment, before turning to Henry. She was relieved that the blonde got her memories back but also incredibly guilty for messing her up like she obviously had.

“Henry?”, she now asked cautiously, afraid that her son would react in a similar way.

“You know mom, that was probably not the best way to tell Emma.”

A choked laugh escaped Regina’s lips as the boy nestled himself in her arms. She hugged him tight, before she felt him pull back.

“I should go after Emma.”, he said, glancing towards the open door.

“Are you mad at me, Henry?”, Regina couldn’t help but ask, but Henry shook his head.

“No. I’m glad I’ve got my memories back and I’m glad you finally told mom you love her, but she’s never been one for surprises.”

He was out of the door before Regina could finish her next sentence:  
“How did you-“, she called, before sighing, “know?”

 

“Mom?”

“Here.”, Emma responded automatically upon hearing her son calling for her, before the realization came in that it wasn’t all that automatic at all. It wasn’t like the years of experience parenting Henry had actually happened, a small voice in her head mocked and she winced.

Still, Henry had heard her and now sat down next to her on the bench in Mrs Fowlers little garden where she had escaped to.

“Are you okay?”, he asked and Emma could feel his eyes on her.

She shook her head.

“I don’t know. No. Not really.”

“You’re confused.”

A short bitter laugh escaped her.  
“That would be the understatement of the year.”

“But you do remember, don’t you?”

She heard the uncertainty in his voice and it pressed her to nod.

“Yeah, Yeah, I do.”

“Everything?”

“Everything”, she confirmed.

“Hmm.”

He was silent for a moment, before asking his next question.

“Why are you so upset? Is it because mom told you she loves you?”

Emma hadn’t really grasped that information yet and trying to now, she failed once again.

“No”, she sighed, eventually looking up at her son, “I mean, yes. Maybe. I just-“, she took a deep breath, “all those memories of us together, they’re not real. I thought I had this amazing life, with you, but I didn’t. I… That just messes with my head.”

She couldn’t help her voice breaking at her last words and her shoulders slumped in defeat. There was just so much going on right now that she simply couldn’t pretend to be fine, not even for Henry. And where was the point in that, anyway? Henry knew. He would feel similarly.

She gave him a short look-over and found that he looked entirely too calm for the situation though.

“Why aren’t you confused?”, she asked a little jealous of his obvious calmness.

Henry simply shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

Emma felt her eyes widen in disbelief but he just smiled at her in response, a smile that seemed way too grown up for a thirteen year old.

“I mean, it’s not like all those memories were a lie, you know? I did do all the stuff I remember. It just wasn’t with you but with Regina.”

“Wait. What?” Emma burst out, not sure she could trust her ears, “Those were her memories? Her memories of you growing up?”

Henry only nodded.

“Like for example the time we supposedly went to that theme park and I really wanted to go through the haunted house? And then I was so scared for the rest of the night that I refused to sleep in my room and instead we slept in your bed and you had to keep the light on throughout the whole night? I did that with mom at Storybrooke’s summer fair and afterwards slept with her on the couch in the living room, because I was afraid of going upstairs.”

The image of a nine year old Henry cuddled up with Regina on the couch in Storybrooke’s mayoral mansion had Emma smiling without her even noticing, but Henry did, and he scooted closer now, laying his head down on her shoulder.

“See. It’s not all a lie, it’s just not your memory. And also, all the stuff we did last year, that was real.”

Emma nodded, trying to see it from his perspective. He was right. The last year was all theirs. Though it didn’t even remotely make up for ten years of separation, Emma tried her best to focus on it to ground herself and stop her emotions from swirling so fast they made her feel sick. And while she felt still unable to process the information that  Regina Mills _loved_ her, the knowledge that the false memories weren’t all lies but in fact the brunette’s memories of Henry’s real childhood, was somehow strangely comforting. She sighed deeply and rested her head against Henry’s on her shoulder.

“Yeah, you’re right, kid.”

They sat in silence for a few moments.

 

“Can we go back in?”, Henry eventually asked, “it’s getting really cold.”

“Of course!”

Emma suddenly noticed that not only did she go out into the chilly evening without a jacket, but so did Henry and while she didn’t care so much for herself, she didn’t want Henry catching a cold.

When they re-entered their room a couple of minutes later, the table had been moved back to its initial place against the wall, the card deck, returned into its box, sat neatly on its middle and there was no trace of a brunette mayor/former queen.

Emma didn’t know if she should be sad or relieved about that.

“She’s probably gone to her room”, Henry figured, “she was pretty upset, too.”

Great, that was exactly the kind of information Emma didn’t need.

But of course Regina was upset, too. She was right with what she had said during her emotional outburst earlier. Emma had lived a pretty happy life this past year. The memories might not have been hers, but they were good memories. They had a nice apartment, she had a well-paying job and overall they had a perfectly calm and normal life.

Regina on the other hand had not only remembered the horrors they’d faced with Cora and Pan and Neverland, but also felt the absence of her son every single day for over a year. She sure had reasons enough to be upset.

And she told you she loved you and you ran, a small voice inside her mind reminded her.

When that realization finally hit, Emma almost choked on a breath.

 

Regina Mills loved her!

 

The false memories, the one’s she had such a hard time giving up now, the ones she was currently obsessing over- they were in fact Regina’s very own, very personal memories. Memories she had willingly shared with Emma to offer her not only a safe life, but also a happy one. One where the past, that always weighed so heavy on her, was forgotten.

Only now did Emma really understand how incredible a gift that was. It made her heart skip a beat.

 

“Mom?”, Henry asked carefully, noticing the change in Emma’s expression.

 “Is everything alright?”

“She loves me!”,

It was only when Henry laughed- genuinely, whole heartedly laughed that she snapped out of her revelation long enough to really look at him.

“Why are you laughing?”, she asked unbelieving.

“You’re seriously asking that?”

When Emma didn’t answer and only kept staring at him, he pulled himself together, the slightest hint of a smile still tugging at his lips.

“Of course, she loves you! That’s like, no news at all! I think she did even before Neverland.”

Emma’s jaw dropped.

“Are you serious, kid?”

“Of course!”, he sighed, rolling his eyes at her, “Have you seriously never noticed how she looked at you? I mean, I know you didn’t remember until like an hour ago, but you have to have known back then?”

“I didn’t”, Emma said, dropping down on her bed, her thoughts drifting off again.

Regina was in love with her- had been for a long time now, going as far as gifting her with her own memories so she could get not only a safe but a happy life, while all Regina got was misery once again.  
And apparently it was obvious for everyone except her?

And now it was Regina’s kiss that had broken the memory-spell, which in conclusion made their kiss True Love’s Kiss.

_True Love._

Emma ran her hands through her hair before letting herself fall back into the bed with a groan.

How did this evening escalate like this?

She knew she had to talk to Regina, but what was she going to say?

Right now Emma didn’t even know what she _felt_. She felt too much of everything, really. Relief, anger, gratitude, guilt, being only a few of those emotions.

All she knew for sure was that Regina had gifted her with her own memories before sending them into safety. Regina, one of the most put together people she knew, had confessed her love in an absolutely uncharacteristic outburst of emotion and Regina’s kiss had given her back her memories- and Emma’s heart was beating  violently at the thought of any those acts.

 

Regina, Regina, Regina.

The woman that up until a week ago was a stranger to no-memory Emma now filled every corner of her mind.

Images flashed in front of her mental eye: Their first meeting, when Regina had smiled at her, so grateful for bringing her back her run-away son. Their constant bickering in the beginning of their relationship, before the first curse broke, when Emma wasn’t sure if the reason she batted heads with the brunette all the time was because she actually had a different opinion or because she simply enjoyed being able to coax so much emotions out of the otherwise so regal woman.

Then there was the moment down in the mines. For a short moment it seemed like there was no way to save Regina. When Emma eventually realized there was, though, she didn’t hesitate for even a second. Because no way Emma would be able to handle Storybrooke and all its craziness without Regina around.

There were so many horrible things they went through, Neverland probably being at the top of that list, but somehow in the end, they always got back together, however bumpy the road and however hurtful the accusations down the line, in the end they were stronger and better, together.

 

Emma suddenly remembered the dreams she kept having over the past days. The dreams that she had forgotten as soon as she woke up, but that had always left her feeling warm and happy and loved, even the ones that bore a hint of sadness. The most prominent feeling after she awoke had been love.

Emma’s eyes flew open again and her gaze landed on the keyring she had tossed next to her on the sheet. The dreamcatcher pendant! Now she remembered where she got it! It was a gift from Regina, given to her more as mockery than everything else, after her own dreamcatcher broke in the course of serving as a screen for the proof that Regina killed Archie, in form of a dog’s memories.

Emma had been devastated seeing Regina in the dog’s memories, when she had been so sure the brunette was innocent. In hindsight she regretted jumping to conclusions and listening to a dog of all things, but back then it seemed legit.

When it came out that Regina had, indeed been innocent Regina had dangled the silver pendant in front of Emma’s eyes.

“If you ever want to accuse me of murder again, it’s easier to have one of those at hand”, she had snapped, before turning on her heel and leaving.

 

Emma smiled to herself at the memory, a warm feeling spreading in her stomach and the spinning carousel in her mind slowly stopping its movement, making room for one thought, one feeling that stood out from the haze that still clouded most of her mind.

When no-memory Emma had met Regina Mills a few days ago, when they had talked for hours on end and laughed and shared meals and just reveled in each other’s company, she had felt happier than she had the entire year before. There was so much that connected the two of them even without their history. Even without her memories Emma felt drawn to Regina and didn’t quite manage to stay away. If she felt so strongly about her, even before remembering, that had to mean something, right?

Emma came to a conclusion.

 

“I have to talk to Regina!”, she announced, jumping up from the bed, only briefly glancing over at Henry, noticing a wide smile spreading on his face, before grabbing her keys and storming out of the room and 3 doors down the hallway.

She knocked determinedly, but it took a few agonizing moments until the door was answered and Emma could finally look in the [insert fitting color] eyes of the woman she loved. Right: _Loved_!

“We need to talk”, she announced, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth upon her mental realization.

Apparently that wasn’t what Regina had been expecting, because the brunette’s face was so utterly stunned that Emma couldn’t help but laugh for a moment. She caught herself though knowing that first they had to talk about more pressing matters.

“May I come in?”, she asked, gesturing to the space behind Regina, who still blocked the doorway with her body.

“Yes, of course.”, with a shake of her head, Regina seemed to have cleared her thoughts enough to step aside and let Emma enter the room.

She motioned to the bed for Emma to sit on and then tentatively sat down next to her, leaving enough space between them so they wouldn’t breach each other’s personal bubble.

 

As soon as Regina sat down, Emma turned to her and locked their eyes.

“You love me.”, she stated.

Regina only nodded.

“You kissed me and that kiss brought back our memories.”

Regina nodded again, averting her eyes. That was everything she had been able to think about since Henry had left her alone to go after Emma. She knew she was in love with Emma, there was no denying it anymore.  She hadn’t known though, that the universe or some god or whatever force decided if “True Love” or not agreed with that.

 

Emma noticed Regina averting her eyes and almost reached out for the brunette’s cheek to turn her face back to her, but caught herself in the last second and instead only reached for the other woman’s hand.

“Look at me please?”, she asked, feeling that if she didn’t get everything out now, the little confidence she had gathered had would soon dissipate again and she would stall. She wasn’t good with feelings, but if Regina had managed to voice hers, Regina regal-always-composed Mills, then she would be able to do so, too.

“I’m sorry I panicked.”, she started, “I’m sorry I left. I just needed some space. The knowledge that everything I thought to be true, really isn’t. That, when I thought I had been a good mother to Henry all those years, I really gave him up not 5 minutes after her was born. That scared me and it made me angry and it still does. “

She had to pause and take a deep breath to stop her thoughts from spiraling down that road of self-loath again.

“But Henry told me that those memories- They were yours?”

Regina nodded hesistantly.

“That… Thank you so much for that, Regina.”

Emma felt like she had never meant words as truly as she meant these now. Still, the hard part was yet to come. Even though she was sure, she felt unable to stop her stomach from twisting and her heart from racing. She still struggled with voicing her feelings because that’s just the way she worked.

She dropped her gaze and took a deep breath, when her eyes once again landed on her keys. That was the idea! She separated the dreamcatcher pendant and held it up for Regina to look at.

 

“You remember that?”, she asked, “You gave it to me in mockery, but for some reason I’ve had it on my keyring ever since. I thought about it a lot, this past week- everytime I woke up in the morning from a dream I couldn’t really remember, but that left me with a feeling of warmth and family and love.”

She took another deep breath, locking eyes with Regina once again, who hadn’t said a word since Emma started talking.

“I love you, too, Regina. I might have been a little blind for a long while, but now, now I understand what I felt back then. And not only that, but even when I thought I didn’t know you, you fascinated me. We had so much in common and I loved talking to you, once I got over the initial panic attack you gave me the first time we spoke.”

“You mean, like the one you had before I kissed you today?”, Regina suddenly interrupted, having seemingly completely missed the confession Emma just made.

But Emma nodded, knowing that the brunette had a lot on her mind as well and needed time to process.

“Yeah. I completely freaked out that first day when you told me my memories weren’t mine. I don’t even know why, it was nothing but words but I got so scared. I used to get panic attacks a lot when I was younger. It got better over the years, but yeah, that first day- not very pleasant.”

Emma felt Regina’s hand tighten around hers while she spoke, and looked back up at the brunette with an assuring smile which she hoped leveled the brunette’s guilt about that admission.

“But, Regina, what I was saying is: Even when I didn’t know you, I wanted to. I couldn’t stay away. I love you, Regina!”

The smile on her lips had probably reached a ridiculous width by now but it felt so good to say those words. And when they sunk in with the other woman now, her face took on an expression of utter surprise that Emma couldn’t even begin to describe with words.

She couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. Finally she reached up and tucked an errand strand of hair back behind the brunette’s ear, gently brushing along her temple, savoring every touch.

“I love you”, she repeated once more before leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on Regina’s lips.

She pulled back a little to see Regina’s reaction, afraid she might have gone too far after all.  She didn’t get very far, before hands came up to her cheek and neck and pulled her back in for another kiss.

Regina’s lips were soft and warm against hers and when her tongue traced the outline of her lower lip, she gladly welcomed it.

Warmth was spreading from where their lips were attached throughout Emma’s whole body and she knew that this was a feeling she would never get tired of and crave for the rest of her life.

 

When eventually they parted, they stayed close, their foreheads still touching. Emma felt Regina’s breath on her lips, her hand still cupping her cheek. Her own hands were entangled in the brunette’s silky hair.

“I love you.”, Emma smiled, loving the taste of the words.

Another, featherlight, kiss was placed on her lips, before Regina repeated, “I love you”.

They slowly pulled back, immediately entangling their hands to keep some kind of physical contact.

Both beaming at each other. Both completely overwhelmed with the reality of the situation they had never even dreamed of.

“You know,” Regina eventually said chuckling lightly, her gaze dropping to their intertwined hands, “I never thought this far.”

“What do you mean?”, Emma asked, a little confused.

“When I went to look for you and Henry, I never thought this far. I knew I had to find you and get your memories back, but I never thought as far as what would happen afterwards.”

“I’m sure you didn’t think about True Love’s Kiss to get my memories back, either.” , Emma interjected.

“Well, no. That was - suprising.”

Emma felt Regina stiffen at that, her face falling.

“Sometimes this whole fairytale thing does have its good points, though, right?”, she joked, relieved when Regina’s face softened again.

They stayed silent then, enjoying the tingling atmosphere that still surrounded them.

 

“What’s going to happen now?”, Regina eventually asked and Emma was surprised to hear so much uncertainty in her voice. But when she thought about the question, she couldn’t really come up with an easy answer either. There was so much happening right now that she couldn’t even see as far as tomorrow.

“I don’t know”, she admitted, “tonight was a lot to take in.”

Regina’s eyes shot up to meet Emma’s and she pulled back her hands.

“Sure, sure. You probably have a lot to think about, we should call it a night and-“

“Regina!”, Emma forcely interrupted and reached for the brunette’s hands again, shocked with the sudden distance the brunette had built between them. That was definitely not what she wanted!

“I didn’t mean that I have to think about this, about us, again.”, she emphasized,  “I mean what I said. I love you. I know that!”

She locked their eyes, trying to get Regina to understand.

“You literally only realized that half an hour ago.”, Regina almost whispered, her eyes closing to avoid Emma’s stare.

Emma’s heart ached at the sight of Regina so vulnerable. She wanted to lean forward and kiss the doubt that clouded the brunette’s face away, as cheesy as that sounded. She knew though, that that probably wouldn’t be the best line of action, so she tried to put it in words. This evening alone probably had her talking about her feelings more than the previous 30 years of her life.

 “Yes, Regina. It all happened very fast and to be honest, if things were different I probably wouldn’t have had the guts to tell you right away. I would have moped around for days or weeks, but things aren’t different. We are living chaotic lives between curses and fairytale characters and whatnot. So yeah, here I am, telling you that I love you. And it might take time until we get used to this and we might still yell at each other and I might still say the wrong things and you might still get majorly annoyed with me, but I am here now telling you that I want to do this, I want to try this, Regina. And I think we actually might have a very good shot at this, because some of your freaking fairytale gods seems to have decided that we’d be each other’s true loves. And I want to believe that that means something!”

 

Finishing her speech, Emma felt a blush creeping up her neck. She so wasn’t the person to talk about feelings!

When she felt Regina squeeze her hands, though, she lifted her head again to look at the other woman and received a smile so beautiful she immediately forgot all her concerns about sounding cheesy.

“Emma Swan, who knew you could be so poetic.”

Emma snorted out a laugh.

“Oh shut up!”

She pulled her hands from Regina’s.

Instead she moved closer to the brunette, folding her legs underneath herself and laying her head on her shoulder.

 

Regina stiffened for the slightest of moments, unused to that kind of affection. But she hesitantly lifted an arm and put it around Emma’s shoulder, her hand coming to rest on the blonde’s upper arm.

Emma gave a content hum and Regina smiled looking down at the blonde, who had closed her eyes. She relaxed, almost unconsciously starting to trace patterns up and down Emma’s arm as she reveled in the contact that she had craved but that had been denied to her for so long.

“This is nice.”, Emma hummed, her eyes opening, head raising ever so slightly to be able to look at Regina.

“Yes.”, Regina confirmed, “yes it is.”

 

They sat like this for a long time, and Emma was just about to doze off, when Regina gently nudged her.

“Huh?”, she made quite unintelligible.

“You should get back to your room. Henry’s still there.”, Regina explained, tucking a blonde strand of hair behind Emma’s ear. Emma hummed at the contact, leaning in ever so slightly before she reluctantly sat up straight and stretched her back.

“You’re probably right.”, she sighed, but couldn’t hide her disappointment.

She wanted to stay close to Regina. As crazy as the evening had been and as dizzy as she still felt from the whole memory-regaining-thing, being close to Regina made everything so much better. It made her feel calm and content and she didn’t want to give up on that feeling just yet.

It was like she had the need to make up for all the time they lost while fighting villainous mothers and great-grandfathers.

But Regina was right. Henry was still in their room and he’d want to have answers and she didn’t want him to be alone all night, anyway.

She sighed defeated and got to her feet, pulling Regina up with her.

“We’ll talk more tomorrow.”, Regina promised, “You probably have a lot of questions.”

“Yeah…”, Emma drew out the word, “ Even though I don’t know if I want to know all the answers- ignorance is bliss and stuff.”

Regina laughed.

“You do want the answers. I know Henry’s curiosity doesn’t come from just anywhere. Good Night, Emma.”

“Good Night.”

Emma leaned forward, pressing her lips once again against Regina’s and reveling in the emotions that elicited, before they parted, way too early for Emma’s liking.

“Good Night”, Regina repeated, before gently, but determinedly pushing Emma towards the door.

Emma managed to steal another short kiss, before eventually turning to get back to her son.

 

Emma was fully prepared to be jumped at upon entering their room, but she was greeted with darkness and silence that was only interrupted by an occasional snore. Henry had fallen asleep and a short glance at her watch told her that it was already past midnight. She had spent more time at Regina’s room than she thought.

Smiling down at Henry, she pulled up the comforter and tucked it over his shoulder, before gathering her pajamas and visiting the bathroom before climbing into bed herself.

A smile firmly attached to her lips, she drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**_ Chapter 8 _ **

The next morning Emma felt like she had a deja-vu. She was pulled from sleep into consciousness by a rather irritating movement of the mattress, indicating that someone was excitedly jumping on it right next to her head.

And it was a deja-vu because the last time she had woken up like this, was when Henry was small and got excited over the first snow of the year. Or well the last time she thought she had woken up like this anyway.

Groaning, she blinked open her eyes and reluctantly sat up only to actually find Henry kneeling next to her, jumping up and down.

“You’re awake! Finally! I’ve been trying to wake you for about 10 minutes now.”, he greeted her.

“Good morning to you too, son. Have you magically turned back into a 6-year old over night?”, Emma replied sarcastically, rubbing her eyes and brushing a hand through her hair.

“How did it go?”, he asked ignoring the stab at his childish behavior, wide eyes locked on hers and curiosity written all over his features.

Emma sighed. It was so early! She desperately wished for a coffee before having this conversation, but she knew that Henry wouldn’t be willing to wait that long. So she gave into his questioning look.

“Okay, kid, let’s make a deal: Short version now, long version after breakfast?”

“Deal!”, he nodded enthusiastically.

“It went well.”, Emma  answered, “We decided that we’d try it with each other. But there’s still a lot to talk about and we’re not about to just rush into something without taking into accord all the crazy that has been happening. Satisfied?”

Henry looked at her for a moment, pondering whether to say yes or no, but eventually nodded.

“Fair enough.”, he stated, jumping off of Emma’s bed.

“That was easy.”, Emma wondered, following his motions around the room with her eyes while he picked up some clothes and his towels.

“What did you expect?”

“I don’t know? More insistence maybe? How would I know?”

“Well, she’s in love with you and you’re in love with her and you’re gonna make it work, right? So everything’s good. I get that you’re still upset about the memory thing and stuff, so yeah.” He shrugged his shoulders before closing the bathroom door behind him.

Emma just looked at the closed door for a moment.

Regina had done one hell of a job parenting that boy. And so did I, she added eventually, remembering that the past year was indeed hers and hers alone.

 

They met Regina in the hallway on their way down to breakfast and Henry immediately flung himself at her.

“Good Morning!”, he smiled brightly.

“Good Morning, Henry.” Regina answered, returning his hug.

Emma’s heart jumped at the pure joy present on Regina’s face as their son hugged her tightly. It was such a beautiful thing to witness, that it took her a second to get back to reality, when Regina called her name.

Eventually she noticed though, and closed the distance between them, placing a short kiss on the brunette’s lips.

“Good Morning.”, she smiled as well.

They made their way downstairs to the breakfast room and ate in relative silence, even Henry succumbing to the mutual understanding that they would talk afterwards and preferably without other people present. But when they got back to Emma and Henry’s room 45 minutes later he burst as soon as the door closed behind them.

“So what’s gonna happen now?”, he asked beeming up at his mothers, “Are we gonna go back to Storybrooke? What happened there anyway? How did you even get back? You were about to cast the curse that would transport everyone back to the Enchanted Forest, did it not work? What happened?!”  
Regina was stunned at the amount of questions being shot at her at once, and Emma simply laughed at Regina’s facial expression, when she turned to Emma to ask where her son had gotten that habit of impatience from.

But Emma simply grinned and shrugged her shoulders, before gesturing her thumb towards Henry.

“What he said.”, she said, grin even widening at Regina’s mouth opening in protest.

Eventually though, a smile tugged at the corner of her lips at the excitement of both Henry and Emma and she sat down on Henry’s bed, pulling her feet up to fold them underneath her.

Henry and Emma followed her example and got comfortable on the bed, before two questioning stares were directed at Regina.

 

“Okay. One question at a time, please.”

“What happened after we left?”, Emma asked, putting her hand on Henry’s thigh and giving him a scolding glance to stop him from bouncing.

“Pan’s curse was closing in, so I re-cast the Dark Curse.”, Regina explained, her face contorting at the memory,  “The plan worked and we all got transported back to the Enchanted Forest.

Everyone got there safely, no one was hurt- physically anyway.”, she added the last words and her expression got even darker.

Emma reached over to take Regina’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She earned a sad smile in response, before Regina continued.

“We popped up somewhere in the middle of nowhere, so we thought my castle would be the best destination to get everyone somewhere to stay. Turns out someone had already claimed it as their own.”

“But wasn’t the Enchanted Forest mostly vacated? And Cora followed us here, so who was still there?”, Emma asked, her brows furrowing.

Her memories might still be a little blurry, mixing real and false one’s together, but she was fairly sure apart from Cora the Enchanted Forest was mostly just empty land.

“My sister.”, Regina answered matter of factly.

“Your sister?!”, Emma called out and Henry’s face conveyed about the same amount of confusion.

Regina nodded,.

“Yes, my sister. And trust me, I was about as shocked as you were.”

Regina explained the whole Zelena-drama to Emma and Henry in detail, from how they got back to Storybrooke without their memories to how they eventually got them back when Snow had first kissed her baby boy and how they then managed to put together a plan to take the witches’ powers.

Emma had felt her heart drop somewhere halfway through, when Regina had explained that her mother had gotten pregnant again and gave birth to a baby boy- her little brother not too long ago.

Apparently losing a child was not as traumatic as commonly believed, her parents had just decided to replace her with a newer model- One they would actually be able to see growing up.

The thought hurt, and a lot. She might have her problems with her parents, what with them being her age and having quite annoying moral standards sometimes, but they were still her parents. The people she had longed to have for most of her life. Once she found them, she loved them with all of her being. So she couldn’t help the searing pain in her chest at the thought of them getting another child, when they knew she was still out here.

She tried not show it, though, because Henry was still with them and she didn’t want to fall apart in front of him, even though all she really wanted to do was cry and scream and punch things.

Instead she took a deep breath, focusing on Regina’s eyes that had been looking at her worriedly for a few minutes now.

“Are you okay?”, she asked, the concern clear in her voice and face, her hand squeezing Emma’s.

Emma only nodded, biting the inside of her cheek and taking another deep breath.

 

Henry hadn’t noticed his blonde mother’s struggle, he was too curious about the newest addition to his strange and ever-growing family.

“So Zelena is your half sister?”, he asked, trying to work through the things Regina just told them.

Regina gave Emma one last questioning look, being acutely aware of the blonde’s change in mood at the mention of her brother. She got another nod in response though, so she answered their son.

“Yes, she is. She is Cora’s daughter, too.”

“So that makes her my aunt, right?”

“I guess so.”

“And you’ve got her locked up?”

“For now, yes. She was still at the hospital though, when I left. Rumple”, she couldn’t help her disdain towards the old man, “tried to make away with her, but Belle stopped him before he could kill her. She got pretty beat up though with whatever spell he cast at her. But Whale said she’s going to be okay.”

Henry nodded, comprehending all the new information he had just received.

 

Emma shook her head and swallowed hard to speak through the still prominent pain in her chest.

“Do you think she’s capable of change?”, she asked, looking at Regina.

Though Emma was pretty busy with all the emotion her parent’s replacement child elicited, she didn’t miss the melancholy that accompanied Regina’s words about her sister.

Regina locked eyes with her and Emma knew she let herself really think about that for maybe the first time. She was a little surprised how easy it was for her to read the brunette already.

“I hope so.”, she eventually answered, lowering her gaze to their linked hands for a moment, before speaking up again.

“I mean, she tried to kill me and make everyone miserable, but I do understand where she’s coming from. She grew up, knowing that her mother had intentionally abandoned her, knowing that I got all the attention she so desperately wanted. I can’t blame her for wanting to be loved, can I?”

Her face fell, and Emma squeezed her hand, stroking her thumb over its back, not missing how painfully similar her feelings about that baby-brother she didn’t yet know were.

“In the end, I think, I hope that Zelena can understand that my life with mother wasn’t much happier than hers was without her. She’s the only blood-relative I’ve got left. And, blame me for it, but having your mother around for so long, talking about family and love and bonding, I can’t help but wish that that means at least something.”

“I’m sure it does.”, Emma smiled encouragingly and was met with a silent thank you evident in Regina’s eyes.

 

“Okay, so when are we going to go back to Storybrooke?”, Henry asked, speaking into the space that had settled between the two women.

Both now turned to look at their son who glanced at them expectantly, but his face soon fell when none of his mothers reacted immediately.

“We **are** going back to Storybrooke, right?”, he asked more forcefully.

“Of course we are”, Emma eventually replied, forcing a smile on her lips to reassure Henry, “of course we are.”

She felt Regina squeeze her hand and knew that the brunette understood that in reality she wasn’t too keen on returning. But Henry was right, they were going to go back. As much as Emma had liked their calm New York life, save for the lack of real friends, with her memories back, heading back to New York was just not an option any longer. Even though the pain in her chest only worsened at the thought of meeting her parents again soon.

Emma could feel Henry’s eyes on her, but she didn’t meet them. She didn’t want Henry to know how reluctant she was about returning.

“Good then.”, Henry eventually announced, “I’m gonna be downstairs for a while, see if Mrs Fowler needs help or if Michael’s still around.”

His gaze switched between both of his mothers for a moment before he headed for the door and left.

 

Emma and Regina looked at each other a little lost for a moment, before they both started laughing.

“Okay, so that was not subtle at all. You did not do a good job parenting there”, Emma laughed.

“Well, neither did you. But his intention was good, so I think we should forgive him for the lack of subtlety.”, Regina replied, joining in on Emma’s laughter.

“But I think he has a point. We need to talk some more.”

Regina gave her a questioning look that Emma avoided.

Nodding, Emma’s gaze dropped onto their intertwined hands, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t really know how to voice her concerns.

“You’re upset about your parents getting another child.”

Emma’s eyes flew up to meet Regina’s, surprised that the brunette had figured out exactly what was on her mind so quickly, but eventually she nodded. She took a deep breath, wincing at the amount of effort that simple action took, when the matter was pressing down on her chest so painfully.

“Yes. It sucks, always being second choice. Good enough to have around, but easily replaced when gone.” Her voice trailed off, her gaze settling on their hands once again.

“Emma, you’re not second choice.”, Regina was quick to object, “not for your parents. And not for me or Henry. Look at me please”, she pleaded, “I hate to defend the two idiots, but they sure didn’t get another baby because you were gone. They missed you the whole time, there might have been a lot on their minds, but they missed you and they love you.”

It felt good to hear those words and coming from Regina they felt so soothing, but Emma was still doubtful and the pain in her chest pulsating prominently. She bit her lip to keep it from trembling while she tried to wrap her thoughts around how a reunion with her parents might look like.

She almost jumped when she felt Regina’s arm settling around her shoulders, but relaxed into the embrace quickly and leaned into Regina’s side, feeling the tears she held back coming eventually.

“You’re not second choice, Emma.”, Regina repeated, stroking her arm in gentle motions, “I do agree that the timing for that baby could not have been worse. But in the end, that little boy was the one who saved us from Zelena’s wicked masterplan. And by extension he also brought me back to you.”

“Hmm.”, Emma hummed, brushing at her cheeks.

“Why were you going to look for us all alone, anyway?”, she changed the topic, asking one of the many questioned that were still unanswered.

“The protection spell around the townline is still intact.”, Regina explained, “And even though it was your mother who cast the curse this time, she cast my version of it. That leaves me the only person able to leave without forgetting everything all over again.” 

“Hmm”, Emma hummed again, burying her face deeper in the crook of Regina’s neck.

“We’re going to go back.”, she mumbled against Regina’s skin.

“We’re going to go back”, Regina confirmed, stroking up and down Emma’s upper arm encouragingly, “and no matter how you feel about your parents now, I’m sure once you see them, you’ll be happy to be back.”

Emma groaned and made Regina laugh with it.

“Don’t think I don’t know that,”, she grunted, “it’s more that my pride doesn’t want me to be.”

“Well, upholding my pride never got me anywhere”, Regina retorted, smiling down at Emma, her features softening, “Everyone missed you. They’re all going to be happy to have you back.”

“Don’t you think their happiness will be slightly darkened by the fact that their oh so holy savior fell for the Evil Queen?”, Emma’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, but she couldn’t help herself. Her parents had been so ridiculously wary of Regina, even after everything she’d done to help and save the town and its people, that she simply couldn’t imagine them taking their new relationship, however it may develop, well.

It wasn’t even the same-sex part that Emma thought would be the problem, more the Regina-part of it. Though she wasn’t too sure about how the first would sit with the rest of the town either.

 

After a few moments of silence Emma noticed that Regina’s movements up and down her arm had stopped. She sat up to look at the brunette questioningly, realizing her last question hadn’t been answered yet.

“What’s wrong?”, she prompted.

Regina averted her eyes and if Emma didn’t know better she would say the former queen looked almost embarrassed.

“Regina?”, she probed.

“Your parents might already know.”

The words were spoken so fast and so quietly that Emma almost missed them, but just almost and so her mouth fell open.

“Why? I mean how…?”

Eventually Regina took a deep breath and lifted her head to look at Emma again.

“I didn’t take being back in the Enchanted Forest too well. Being without Henry and you and back in that land that bore so many bad memories- I didn’t manage too well those first few days.”, she admitted, “Your mother, that inquiring little brat she’s always been, wouldn’t stop prying. She followed me like a guard dog, always eying me. I don’t know what she expected me doing. Anyway, eventually she caught me in a… critical moment.”

Emma felt her heart pick up a beat at those last words.

“What do you mean by ‘critical’?”, she asked, almost unconsciously reaching for Regina’s hand and intertwining their fingers again.

“As I said, I didn’t manage the loss of you and Henry too well, so I tried to find a solution to that problem.”

“Regina, what did you do?”

Emma hadn’t known how bad things had been for Regina before now. Hearing her talking about how hurt she had really been, made her heart ache for the brunette. But most of all, right now, she was worried of what measures the former queen might have taken to ease that pain.

“I-“, Regina started, before interrupting herself again, gazing into Emma’s eyes.

Emma tried to lay all her emotions into the gaze she returned, to tell Regina she was safe and it was okay to tell her anything.

It seemed to work, because the other woman took another deep breath and finally answered.

“I removed my heart to stop feeling the pain.”

It took Emma a moment to process that information and in that moment Regina had averted her eyes and withdrawn her hand from Emma’s.

“Regina, that’s-“, Emma didn’t know what to say, but knew she had to say _something_. Regina was a very guarded person and admitting her vulnerability like that was a huge deal for the brunette.

Emma knew that and she wanted to assure her that she understood.

“Regina, I’m so sorry.”, she eventually said, reaching for the other woman’s hands again, relieved when she didn’t pull away again and forced her to look at her.

“I’m so sorry that you hurt so bad. I have no idea how you must have felt. You gave me calm and normalcy while all you got is pain.”

Emma didn’t know where she seemed to take all that wisdom and her abilities to word from lately, but with Regina she just had that urge to make the other woman understand, really understand that she meant what she said.

She squeezed Regina’s hand in hers and offered a small smile.

“I’m so sorry you hurt so bad that you thought removing your heart was a solution.”, she repeated. “I am, however also a little irritated that you thought that would be a good idea! What if something happened to it? Like, what if you accidently crushed it while carrying it around, how would you even have done that?”  
Regina’s expression changed from embarrassed and sad to amuse at Emma’s words.

“It was a bad idea, yes. And I will tell you that I didn’t really think any further than removing it, so yes, it was a bad idea.” Her expression softened, when she locked eyes with Emma again, “Your mother said the exact same thing, when she found out. And eventually I was so desperate, I actually listened to her.”

“You talked to **my mother** about your feelings for me?”, Emma asked unbelieving when she put together the puzzle and Regina legitimately blushed, which was a sight Emma would savor, she promised herself.

“To be fair, she figured it out before and confronted me about them. I didn’t really tell her. I simply didn’t deny it either.”

Emma smiled at Regina’s obvious embarrassment at the fact that she shared something intimate with Snow White, of all people. Even if she had to admit that it was her mother that Regina had confided in, felt more than a little weird. But when she thought about what that meant for their situation now, she couldn’t help but feel relieved.  
“So my mother, she wasn’t objected to the idea? She didn’t send David after you with his sword for pining after her daughter?”, Emma asked.

“No.”, Regina huffed, “even though that was my expectation as well. But really, she was- understanding. Irritatingly so.”

Emma grinned. Of course Regina would never say a good word about Snow without leveling it again with something annoying about the younger woman.

Emma felt herself relaxing though and she shuffled closer to Regina again, resuming their previous position and laying her head down on the brunette’s shoulder.

“Well I guess that makes things at least a little bit easier.”, she said, letting out a breath.

“So you’re not mad?”

“No. I’m kind of relieved, actually. I know it’s cowardly, but I’d really hate to have more topic for arguments than my brother”, Emma stumbled a little over those words, “will already make for.”

She sighed, nestling her head deeper in Regina’s neck, reveling in the touch and the fact that she was actually allowed to do so.

 

They sat like this for quite a while, just reveling in each other’s presence and touch. Eventually they heard a knock at the door and knew that Henry had come back from whatever he had busied himself with earlier.

Regina smiled and detangled herself from Emma, getting up to open the door for their son.

Henry’s mood was unaltered, still excited at the new direction they initial vacation trip had taken.

“So?”, he asked, plopping down next to Emma on the bed, “Did you talk about whatever you obviously needed to talk about without me present?”

Emma laughed at her son’s boldness.

“Yeah we did.”, she confirmed.

“Great. So are we going back to Storybrooke today?”

Emma froze for a second before reminding herself that yes, those people in Storybrooke were her family and really wanted to see her again. So she looked over at Regina questioningly, needing her reassurance

“I don’t know, are we? How are you feeling anyway?”

With everything that happened emotionally for her those past 24 hours, she had almost forgotten that Regina had just been released from a week at the hospital! She felt a blush creeping up her neck at her insensitivity.

“I’m fine.”, the brunette assured her though, “And I’d be fine with going home today.”

 

Home. Emma hadn’t thought of Storybrooke as that yet. The memories of a functional life in a New York were too fresh still. She knew though, that for Regina and Henry that wasn’t true. Storybrooke _was_ their home and it would become Emma’s again, too.

With Regina and Henry by her side, Emma would face the madness that was Storybrooke: be it the redeeming of Regina’s wicked half-sister or her parent’s new baby- her little brother.

With her own little family by her side, Emma was ready to face just about anything.

And it wasn’t like leaving a city-life and job in exchange for small town madness hadn’t done her well the first time around.

 

So when she looked at Regina and Henry alternatingly, both smiling at her with expectance in their eyes, Emma smiled and nodded.

“Okay, then let’s go back today.”

 


End file.
